Cords to a story
by PerezLycan
Summary: Deku goes out for a morning jog. Jirou is strumming her guitar at an empty park. They talk and something between them just clicks. Musical instruments and nerdy musings, swirl together for a rich acoustic soundtrack to the story of their new found relationship. Gorillaz inspired. From fluff to angst drama real quick. Please enjoy and review if you can. FEEL GOOD?
1. Chapter 1

A cord to the story

He was running at a slow pace to the park. A nice morning jog. She was sitting, cross-legged, on a bench, in front of a quiet pond. She tuned a few cords on her guitar.

He turned a corner and into the park. He huffed a few breaths, trying to keep his breathing even. She tried to match the stings pitch to her voice. She was naturally always in tune.

He began to slow down, hearing a soothing voice. He went to a complete walk, looking for the alluring sound, coming down the path. He paused a few yards away from the pond. His eyes wide. The sight in front of him was just as endearing as her voice.

Jirou was sitting on a bench, under a cherry blossom tree. A few petals had landed on the water. A bird was perched on a branch above Jirou taking care of her little chicks. A few ducks had waddled over to her. Her eyes were closed and her hand was tuning the guitar. Nature was enjoying the song as he was.

He was entranced by the sight of serenity and sound of life. He never knew the snarky, mellow, aloof, teen could be beautiful.

Getting the note to hit just right, she sighed content, opening her eyes. "M-Midoriya?" The girl uncrossed her legs and scooted to the corner of the bench, her knees to her chest, hiding behind her guitar.

'She's shy?' Until he realized he invade a personal moment of hers. His cheeks heated up. "E-Eh. No! I-I wasn't trying to-! You see, I was just going out for a jog, when I happend to stumble upon..." He waved his hands trying to explain and hide his blush.

Jirou's head peaked around the guitar as he explained. Her bashful blush of embarrassment slowly faded, back to her usual cool demeanor, then into a full blown teasing grin. He was kind of adorable when he was nervous. She was about to tell him to chill out and it was no big deal.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you, Jirou. I just wanted to admire the beautiful scenery you created."

She glanced around. Nothing around her looked special. But to Midoriya's eyes it was the definition of peace, of why he wanted to be a hero. These moments. "I guess." She spoke, more relaxed, dropping one of her knees off the bench, the guitar leaned on her chest and she loosely hugged it. She had a weak smile, staring off. 'Beautiful, huh?' "You thought it was good?" Rising her doubtful eyes to meet his reassuring ones.

Midoriya lost some of nerves and nodded. "Yea, I never witnessed something so, um, how do I put it," He snapped his fingers, coming up with an explanation. "It was really pure, Jirou!"

"Th-Thanks." She looked away with a forced pout, to hide her tinted cheeks. Her earphone jacks twiddled against eachother as if they were her fingers. "Wanna stay and hear more?"

"E-Eh, I don't want to impose if it's-"

She giggled, getting more comfortable on the bench. "Chill Midoriya, it's not a big deal, you just shocked me earlier." Even though it kind of was a big deal. She never really played for someone. It was more of a hobby. She only came out today cause it was a peaceful morning, believing nobody woud be out during the rising sun.

He cleared his throat and nodded. "Thanks." Taking a seat. Awkward pause. 'This is the first time we actaully had a conversation. M-Maybe I should break the ice.' He opened his mouth.

She beat him to it. "Sorry if it's no good, you are the first person I ever played for."

"Oh." He balled his fist over his shorts. That was a lot of pressure, on both of them. "Give it your best! I'm rooting for you!"

"Huh, Midoriya? This isn't like the sports festival. You don't have to cheer."

He rubbed the back of his head with a bashful chuckle. "I know, but everyone in class is always there to support eachother, even Kacchan, in his own way." He straightened out his face looking at the petals on the pond. "I guess," He turned and locked eyes with her, "I just want you to know I'm supporting you too, even with these things." Finishing with a hero's inoccent smile.

She heated up and her earjacks went sporadic for a moment. "Damnit they're tangled!" She shoved her guitar into his arms, and tried to free her earjacks.

"Eh, Jirou? Can I help?" 'What? They can get tangled?' He never knew that.

"It's fine, ugh, whatever." She gave up and stood. She yanked the guitar from his hands and began to stomp away. 'That damn Midoriya.' She had never been so flustered so easily. She wanted to be angry at him, rather than feel this, whatever it was.

"H-Hold up." Midoriya tapped her shoulder. She paused with a huff. She gave in and turned to him, but her eyes remained away.

His fingers were gentle as he focused on her earjacks. Her cheeks heated up more, and her determination to not meet his eyes faltered. "I shouldn't have been so obnoxious, sorry."

'Damn him and his kind personality.' "It's cool." Still refusing to meet his gaze.

"I know today is out of the question, but maybe later, I could hear you play, just us two?"

She finally decided to equal his eyes. She stared up at him. Her lips parted. He was so close and his cheerful freckles and eyes were too much. She dropped her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, if you want?"

"Great, I'll hold you to that Jirou." He finished untangling them. "There, all better. Eto, I should finish my morning workout, see you later." He waved off, continuing his jog.

"Yeah... see you later." She kept staring at his back, as he disappeared from view. "...Wait, did he just ask me out?"

After his jog, Deku decide to take a break. He was jugging a water bottle, recalling his conversation with Jirou, then it all sprouted out like a water fountain. "DID I JUST ACCIDENTALLY ASK JIROU OUT? AND SHE SAID YES!"

 **Thanks for reading! Idk if I'm a leave it as a one shot or continue it, what u guys think?**


	2. Chapter 2

2

Notebook

Deku took a deep breath. He was standing infront of his classroom door.

Jirou was sharing idle talk with Kaminari and Momo. Her eyes lingered to the door occasionally. He would dart away before she could see him through the glass.

"Good morning Deku!" Uraraka greeted, shifting on the balls of her feet, holding her backpack straps.

He lept out a shriek, thinking he was caught.

"U-Uraraka?" He recovered from his mini outburst. "Sorry, good morning to you too."

"Are you ok?" As she dim-wittedly walked past him, opening the door. "You seem more jumpy than usual."

He grew anxious eyes and reached out. 'The door! But, actually, I've been standing here for a while. I couldn't just stand there all day.' Beginning to go on and on, subconsciously following her. 'I mean, Jirou looks pretty relaxed. It's not like I asked her on a date, a date. Just two friends hanging out. But where would we go? Somewhere quiet and peaceful, like the park, but where we won't be interrupted... Agh! It's starting to sound more like a date the more I think about it! Maybe I should just drop the whole thing. I guess it might of been pretty embarrassing to have some one sprout supportive nonsense out of nowhere.'

Uraraka sweatdropped with a smile. "I guess he's fine." As they both walked into the classroom.

Midoriya was mumbling to himself as the words began to spew out. No one understood him though. "It's not like it's really a big deal. But it kind of is. I should ease into it, eh, that sounds like I would be making a move. I-I mean it's not like I'm trying to, b-but not like I wouldn't not want to try to either." And it just kept going.

Kaminari chuckled. "There goes Midoriya again."

Jirou shrugged, trying to be indifferent. "Yeah, he probably saw a cool quirk or, something." She stared at him and Uraraka as they entered. 'Everything's good between us.' Her eyes kept shifting in between Midoriya and her. 'I wonder if there's something going on with those two?' She ignored the little thought that was nagging at the back of her head. She wasn't the type to trip over other people's friends.

"So yeah I heard there's something going on between them." Kaminari's words snapped her out of her inner conversation.

"Wait, what? Them?" Jirou joined Momo's and his discussion.

Her nodded to her side, sliding his chair closer to them. "Yeah, remember that band I was telling you about? Apparently they're breaking up because the drummer and vocalist where dating the same groupie." He faced the ceiling, and took a huge sigh. "Man, that sucks."

"How regrettable." Momo had some sympathy in her eyes for a moment. "But I didn't really prefer their music, the screaming was quite shocking. Classical is great for any occasion."

Jirou had a deadpan stare at Momo. She was imagining being at a rock concert, with Mozart blasting in the speakers. "Moshing to that would be fucking metal, dude."

Momo gave an uneasy grin. "Why such vulgar language?"

Kaminari shared her idea. "I bet the tea would be good too."

They both started to crack up, with Momo slighty confused at their sense of humor. "Tea does sound lovely."

Jirou forgot about her situation with Midoriya for a moment. She wiped a tear of laughter off her right eye.

Deku quit his mumblings after Kacchan yelled at him to shut up. He stopped, before sitting on his desk. He glanced in Jirou's direction.

She felt someone staring and casually matched it. He tensed, accidently bumping back on his desk. She softened her eyes and her lips curved upwards.

A quiet smile.

She went back to her conversation, joking with her friends.

Midoriya almost fell on his chair. He legs were wobbling worse than when he used one for all. He was staring at his desk. His heart was thudding in his ears. He was sure everyone could hear it.

'She has a cute smile.' It wasn't that chill smirk, it was an honest acoustic show of joy. It played a melody in his chest.

* * *

Deku sighed. 'Today was an ordinary day.' He was expecting more. He slung his bag over his shoulder. He was about to leave with Uraraka and Iida. A tap on his shoulder . "Hm." He wasn't going to lie, he was half-hoping, half-pessimistic. "J-Jirou?"

"Yo, Midoriya." That chill smirk and swag of the shoulders.

"Hey!" He sounded a little more excited than he wanted to. He coughed, clearing his throat. "So about the other day?"

"Yeah, but, it's not like I came here to talk about that." She rubbed the back of her hair, sheepishly. Okay, maybe she did.

He lowered an eyebrow with curiosity. "Y-You didn't? I-I kind of assumed-"

She couldn't help but sigh with her eyes. "Yeah, you have a point. Look, I guess I just wanted to say hi to you... and that I appreciate what you said, about support. I shouldn't have flipped out on you so hard." She forced herself to apologize, she had felt bad since she did that, but she wasn't used to saying sorry and couldn't help but to have a bashful, blushing, pout. "Music is only a hobby of mine, I didn't really expect it, okay? So yeah, sorry."

Midoriya gasped, before it turned into a friendly smile. "Don't worry Jirou, you didn't need to apologize. Like I said, I'll always be supportive of you!" His dense voice had no idea how intimate it actually sounded. "So how about some time this week-" He was about to offer to hang out, until Uraraka called out to him from the door. "Oh, sorry Jirou, I should go, the three of us always walk home together."

She tried not to inwardly cringe. 'Finish the earlier sentence atleast.' She gave up. "Yeah, no problem, I was gonna meet Kaminari and Momo at a record store, anyways." She tried not to reval her disappointment.

"...Um, Jirou?"

"Yeah, Midoriya?" She rose her slightly dejected eyes at him.

"N-Nevermind." He rushed out, losing his nerve. He turned away, before she could see his red cheek. "S-See you tomorrow!" He walked at a brisk pace to his two friends.

Jirou waved and replied with a similar phrase, but it was hesitant. "Yeah, see you later." She kept her eyes on his stumbled walk away, until he left. "What's up with him?" Her eyes landed on his desk, catching on object. "Wait, isn't this that notebook he's always jotting on. I should go give it to him, looks important."

Then that gave her a thought. Analyzing quirks was kind of his hobby. She should support that. She smirked and decided to head after him. 'Hm, I wonder what he wrote about me?' Natural curiosity.

"Hey Jirou, what you got there?" Mina popped up behind her.

"Huh?" Turning her head, caused her earphone jacks to flow with the motion. "Oh Mina, just Midoriya's notebook."

"Oooh, I've always wondered what's in there. Let's check it out!" She tried to pry the book from Jirou's hands.

"H-Hey." She didn't put up much a fight. She was also curious and if someone else happened to open it, then she wouldn't be as guilty right? "Whatever." She mumbled, as Mina flipped through the pages.

Mina was giggling. "I didn't think he would say that about your quirk!"

That peaked her interest. "Ugh, give me that." Snatching it back. She scanned the page. "What? But this is Mineta." Loathing out that pervs name.

"Gotcha! I knew you wanted to know. Now let's see what he really said about you." Urging her to flip the pages.

"Geez you're stubborn." Caving in.

"Yup!"

* * *

Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka were all walking across a bridge over one of the busy streets of the metropolis.

They were going about their usual quirky conversations.

It was faint, but reached their ears. "Midoriya!" She was running, trying to catch up to him.

"Is that Jirou?" He turned his body back, shuffling on his red boots. "Um, you guys go on head."

Ieda and Uraraka shared a puzzled look, but listened to him. Deku tried to ignore the snickering whispered lips the two were already sharing.

He began to walk back towards the bridge. She slowed down to a jog. They met in the middle. She dropped her hands on her knees, panting. The bustling cars were drowned out by the quiet wind. It played around them with a somber beat.

'This is like the scenes in the movies.' Midoriya gulped, with tinted cheeks. 'I hope I'm ready.'

She caught her breath and straightened up her body. She opend her mouth ready to express her feelings.

"You asshole!" She roughly thrusted his book straight at his chest.

Blink, blink.

"Eh?"


	3. Chapter 3

3

Tangled headphones

Midoriya was completely caught off guard. "My notebook?" Looking down at it, pressed against his chest.

Jirou seemed pissed, a vein on her forehead was throbbing, and she had heated cheeks, even the triangles were a different shade. She gave a final shove, and Deku stumbled back. He fumbled, but caught his book before it hit the ground.

"What are you? Some kind of pervert with a quirk fetish? Huh?!" She barked, her earphone jacks threatened to sick him like snakes.

Midoriya's eyes almost bulged out from her words. He was hugging his notebook. "P-Pervert? Nani? What are you talking about?"

"We read through it, that book is an invasion of everyone's privacy. I read the part where you said if Mina gets stressed, her acid starts to burn through her clothes!"

"Huh? But that was just an observation-" He was gonna mention how it could be used to get out of restraints if she was in trouble.

"Or how Mineta could use his quirk to stick people together. That's sick, dude. You were probably thinking of Uraraka and Momo."

"What? No, that's purely tacti-"

"Or Tsuyu and her tounge."

Deku was growing a sweatdrop. '...Who's the real pervert?'

He cleared his throat. "All of those were only observations." His cheeks were growing red at the idea of quirks being used in lewd ways, especially Froppy's tounge. "I-I never thought of quirks l-like th-that. Aren't they usually meant for being a hero." 'Nani? You can use them for sexual purposes?! One for all... Definitely not!'

Jirou had a moment of guilt. 'He's too pure.' Then she did a recap of everything she read. It was innocent enough, maybe she blew it out of proportion. The first thing she read was what he wrote about her, it flustered her thought pattern. '...And I invaded his privacy... Fuck, oi, am I the pervert?' "Hey, look, um sorry. I got caught up with Mina, and overreacted when I saw what you wrote about me..." She was twiddling one of her earphone jacks around her finger, like a lock of hair. 'Why am I so rude to him?'

Midoriya observed her quick change in mood. 'She was just embarrassed, and used my notebook as a way to blow off some frustration...' He was going to smile at the thought, but, 'Wait, that means she read that!'

Midoriya was starting to panick, taking a confused step forward and back, clutching his notebook shut, not wanting to spill what already was. "Um, Jirou, I- What you read, I mean, it was only for me. I didn't think anyone else would read my notebook."

She grew the same blush, waving her arms in front of herself. "I didn't mean to invade your privacy, I was honestly going to give it back to you, but curiosity got the better of me." She gave an awkward laugh of guilt.

They both stared down. The cars beneath them echoed their anxiety. One was embarrassed of what he wrote, the other embarrassed of what she read.

Midoriya took a deep breath. "No, sorry. You're right, my notebook is an invasion of everyone's privacy. I should of asked you guys if it was okay to analyze your quirks. I should of been aware of how self-conscious some of you were about it. I barely found mine, and I get it, it's apart of your body. When people start talking about mine, I get nervous-"

He was rambling again. Jirou began to laugh. "Gosh Midoriya, you're so sensitive and dense at the same time!"

"Huh, is that a complement?"

Her grin turned into a gentle smile. "Yeah, I think it is." She hesitated with a heart beat skip, 'might as well ask.' "So, um, did you mean it? What you wrote?"

Gulp. "Yeah."

Her knees were weak to the vocal honesty. She didn't need to reply. Her smile was the prefect response for Midoriya.

"Hey, wanna walk home together?"

"Sure." She skimmed over a pebble with her heel, it hit the right note as the sun set.

And they began to walk side by side.

Page: Jirou

Her quirk is versatile on all aspects. She can extend her earphones for attacks and defense. She can plug them into just about anything so she would be prefect for reconnaissance, and stealth missions.

Ps: The other day I saw them get tangled and thought it was a cute side of Jirou, that I wouldn't mind seeing again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the support, reviews, favs and follows. I love it, please keep it up and I will put my appreciation into my work! And yeah I know longer chapters are wanted, but I keep them short for 2 reasons mainly. The first being that it makes updates faster. The second and more important for me, is that I can focus on those little details, that give this story it's strength. Those would be skimmed over in long chapters, and then the story loses on quality over quantity. I hope that makes sense. But I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! And sorry for rambling like Deku.**

4

Before the high note

Deku was in the middle of his morning walk to school. He glanced left and right at an intersection before the light turned green. He subconsciously clutched the straps of his backpack. Gulp. He always grew an intoxicating mix of anxiety and comfort before being with her.

"Yo, Midoriya!" She waved from across the street, waiting for him. Her voice, a gentle lullaby, that reached his ears, past the busy city.

"H-Hey Jirou!" He waved back, his voice eager and friendly. The light turned green and he walked with a cheerful, nervous, bounce. He enjoyed her company, but was worried of acting like a complete idiot in front of her. He didn't want to be the bad lyrical quality for a possibly beautiful duet.

They had started walking to and from school together ever since that day. A repeated song between them, that they wanted to keep enjoying.

They haven't talked about the date, it's not like they haven't tried, but one would either get self conscious or awkward, and just drop the subject. They were worried about what the other one thought.

"Jirou, I found a good music compilation of All-Might and that song you told me you like. Wanna watch it together?" Midoriya scrolled through his phone, after she nodded her head. He found the video and tapped on it. "Just jack in and I'll hit play." He switched his phone sideways and it went wide-screen.

"Huh, but how will you hear it?" She rose an eyebrow. "It's not like I can plug my other earphone into your ear or something."

Midoriya gave an awkward laugh. 'That sounds like it would be a great torture tactic though...' He smiled at her, ignoring his twisted thoughts of how she could use her quirk. "Don't worry, I got Bluetooth headphones so we could listen together!" Pulling them out of his pockets.

"Seriously? You did that?" She gasped with a rosy hue on her cheeks. 'He did something so simple, thinking of me? Gosh Damnit Midoriya...'

* * *

Iida gave a worried glance at Uraraka. "Is something the matter?"

She had been looking down with a hint of frustration. She perked up to his voice. "Eh? No!" She laughed off. "It's just, Deku has been hanging out with Jirou a lot lately, don't you think?" Ruffling the back of her hair.

He grew wide eyes of realization. "Uraraka, is there a possibility that you-" He kept his sentence to himself. It wasn't his place to ask her of her feelings towards Izuku. He corrected himself, and his glasses. "Yes, it is true, we should make plans to spend time together this weekend." He proclaimed to make her feel better.

And she did.

She lit up at his idea. "Yeah! We totally should! I'll ask Deku when we see him at school!"

Iida was proud to have cheered a friend up. His glasses glared a shine at his secret plan. 'At the last minute, I will come up with an excuse so only those two will hang out, giving a chance for Uraraka and Midoriya to deepen their bond.'

* * *

"Maaan, Jirou sure has been hanging out with Midoriya a lot." Kaminari let out exasperated. 'I should ask her out before I lose my chance.'

"Why are you telling me, Sparkplug!" Bakugo yelled at the kid who was leaning back on his desk.

"Chill, I was directing my words to Kirishima. But we are friends, right Bakugo, and you're also friends with Midoriya, so um, for relevancy?"

The three of them were sitting in class, it was still early so not many seats were filled.

"Like hell I'm friends with that pathetic Deku!" But didn't deny his friendship with Kaminari.

Kirishima chuckled at Bakugo's response. His arms were crossed over his chair as he sat on it reverse style. He turned to Kaminari. "Dude, you need to find out if she likes you back?"

"What, but I never said I liked her?"

"It's written all over your face, burned out lightbulb." Bakugo grumbled.

Kaminari sighed, defeated. "Damn, if you were able to figure it out, it must be obvious."

"Oi, are you insulting my intelligence?"

Kirishima stopped Bakugo from exploding Kaminari, with a sweatdrop. He gave advice to Kaminari after Bakugo cooled down. "You should ask Yaoyorozu to see if she can talk to her for you? You know, to find out how she feels."

"That's a great idea Kirishima! Bakugo can you ask Midoriya how he feels too?"

"Huh? Why would I care about his love life?!"

"C'mon dude, do me a solid."

"Fuck fine, just shut up, here they come."

* * *

Minutes earlier.

"Uh, Midoriya I've been meaning to ask you something?" Jirou faced him. Her purple hair swayed with her signature uneven bangs, that made her look cooler than a normal hairstyle ever could.

"Yeah, what's up Jirou?" He had a natural smile, that gave his freckles a playfulness.

"What were you going to ask me before you rushed out of the classroom, you know from the day I, ugh, read your notebook, again, sorry about that." She grew a remembered blush, but it quickly faded.

Izuku tensed, but calmed himself. "I guess it doesn't matter now." He rose his phone to eye level, showing it to her. His grin was uneasy but he forced it out. "I was going to ask for your phone number, s-so I could text you, but we already exchanged numbers. I-I don't know why I was so nervous. You made it so simple."

She really did. That day they walked home together for the first time. She right out asked for it, like it was no big deal, and she sent him a quick hey text so he could save hers.

She rose an eyebrow and her lips in a crooked grin. She playfully nudged him. "Really? Why? So you could see the cute side of me more often?" Embarrassing him, but also ignoring the anxious butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"Y-Yeah." He had a tint of pink on his cheeks, but admitted it. 'No point in denying the truth if she already knows.'

But his response caused her to be the flustered one. 'Damnit, not again.' That strange feeling of wanting to be closer and father away from him at the same time reemerged. Like the day at the park. He always found a way to sneak around her aloof shield.

"B-But I also like this side of you too, Jirou. You're funny and mellow, which makes it easy to be around you." He scratched his cheek bashfully. "And you're also really cool."

Her cheeks burned red at his complement and her earphone jacks were about to go haywire again. She quickly grabbed them with her hands, and stared down, trying to hide her huge blush. "Th-Thanks." 'Why, why, why, why?' Her heart was pounding and her eyes were wide to her confusion. 'Do I like Midoriya?' She tenderly clutched her earphones with an unknown hesitation.

"A-And I was thinking," He continued to talk, not noticing her enamored state of mind. "Th-This weekend, I could take you out, and m-maybe hear you play your guitar or something? Like we talked about."

She did her best to act normal. Her face was now a shade of pink, and her earphone jacks were only twiddling against eachother shyly. "Sure, sounds fun." Still not able to make eye contact. If she did, that cheerful smile of his would of taken her over the edge and tangled her headphones. 'I know he called it cute, but it's embarrassing even more so because of that reason, specifically. It's like he's teasing me, with out even knowing it, and I do kind of like it, in a weird way.'

"Really?!" Surprised the question he had been trying so hard to ask was easily accepted, not aware of her conflicting feelings. "That's great, I can't wait!"

His energetic voice, caused her to feel more relaxed. 'It's like one second he makes me squirm, and the other, he completely puts me at ease. How does he do that?' She finally made eyecontact. Her voice radiated her true feelings. "Me either!" And a smile full of a joyful melody.

They were walking down the halls of school, about to reach class. Their shoes had an echoed acoustic of squeaking honesty.

"Hey Jirou?"

"Yeah Midoriya?"

"I-Is it okay if I start calling you K-Kyouka?"

"S-Sure! I don't mind, I-Izuku."

And they walked into class taking another step foward towards their relationship.


	5. Chapter 5

5

Raindrops

Izuku was waiting at a bus stop. He was wearing his signature red boots, black cargo pants, a loose belt, a white collar shirt, and his green unzipped hoodie.

Deku's eyes fell on the sidewalk. They scrunched up recalling his conversation with Uraraka.

* * *

 _"Hey, Deku!" She ran up to him, as he got his shoes out of the locker._

 _"Hm, oh Uraraka." He smiled, turning to her._

 _She had a delightful grin, and swayed back and forth, on the balls of her feet. "Iida was thinking, that we should hang out this weekend! What do you say?!"_

 _"This weekend? S-Sorry, I have plans with Kyouka." He didn't notice the subtle dread in her eyes. "I know, how about next weekend? We could go to the mall or something, all of us!"_

 _"A-All of us?" That meant Jirou too, didn't it? Her eyes were shadowed, but she lit up her face. "Sure! Sounds fun! We haven't hung out in a while, so we just thought that... Hahaha." She laughed off._

 _He rubbed his chin in thought. She had a point. "Hey, how about we walk home together." She grew cheerful eyes at his words. "Kyouka is pretty easygoing around everyone, I don't think she'll mind."_

 _Uraraka subconsciously skid back with one foot. "Ugh, a-actually Iida and I were going to visit his brother, he's still recovering at the hospital, so..."_

 _"Oh, I should go too, I was worried about Iida when I heard about his brother-" about to begin his caring, innocent, blubbering that Uraraka enjoyed hearing, but now every word was a thorn hidden under the rose of his paragraph._

 _"It's fine, really!" She waved her arms in front of herself. She walked away from the conversation and the internal situation she was facing._

 _"Uraraka?"_

* * *

"She was definitely acting weird."

The bus stopped and opened.

He lifted his head up. He saw her beginning to walk out the steps. She grinned and let out a skip as she spotted him. She was rocking the punk aesthetic. A purple choker, a white tank top with an album cover of her favorite band, a black jacket that barely passed below her ribcage, ripped up jeans, and black boots.

"Yo, Izuku." With a wave of her fingers.

"Hey, Kyouka."

They began to walk on the busy street. "Were you waiting long?"

"No. I just got here." He smiled at her. 'I actually came an hour earlier...'

They headed into the arcade. "Why'd we come here?" Not that she was complaining. She walked further inside, then turned to him.

He gave an innocent answer. "Because they have music-based games, kinda like a warm up!"

She cracked a grin before laughing. "Damn, you're really into that supportive crap, huh?"

Deku didn't feel insulted though. Her voice was sincere. His lips curved gently.

"But thanks, I do appreciate it." She had that quiet, endearing, smile.

"...Kyouka-" He caught his accidental affection gasp. "Y-Yeah, don't mention it."

"Hey, let's play some Zombies!" She ran to a game with two pistols. "You know, have some fun before the 'concert.'" She teased.

'Her eyes had a gleam of spring. I didn't see the melancholic, aloof, sarcastic side of her everyone knew. This was someone I wanted to know better, the side of Kyouka I talked about in my notebook.'

"W-Wait up!" He finished his inner monologue and joined her.

She playfully rolled her eyes, back to her snarky attitude. "What was up with you, I thought you were on pause for a moment. Don't tell me you also ramble mentally?" She smirked, seeing the shy guilt in his tinted cheeks. "You do?" She nudged him with her elbow. "So what was it about?" She enjoyed messing with him.

He grew more flustered but answered. "I guess..." He was looking down but forced himself to face her and smile, even through the nerves. "I guess, I just want to remember this."

Kyouka let out a shocked peep. She suddenly felt smaller, stopping her teasing. She was holding the toy pistol with both hands, one finger tenderly on the trigger. She clutched it. She stared at it for a moment, before looking away, embarrassed. "I... I wouldn't mind remembering this too."

He nodded.

And they began to play at the arcade.

'He really is into this supportive stuff, huh.' She smiled to herself.

They killed a few hours and Zombies at the arcade.

"Hey, let's go play some dancing games!" Her voice had a natural musical upbeat rhythm. She grabbed his hand, dragging him along to the fun tempo.

"Eh? B-But I'm not that good-"

"It's easy, just relax and have fun!" She inserted a few coins into the game and stepped up onto the dance floor. "Come on, Izuku!" With a full-blown smile. She reached out her hand to him.

His green eyes grow into emerald orbs of admiration. 'Her voice... It sounds so angelic.' "Y-Yeah!" He stepped up, taking her hand and joined her.

They played a few songs. Deku was a fumbling mess but had fun. Jirou was swaying her hips to the music.

After, they played a few more games, especially the guitar one, then they decided to leave.

They were close to the exit. "That was fun!"

"S-Sorry, because of me, we were barely able to finish any songs. I'm not that good at those games."

"It's not a big deal. I got to play some of my favorite solos." She played air-guitar, as they left.

"Ara? It's raining?" Izuku held out his palm. Droplets slid past his fingers and splashed. The clouds shrouded the city with a growing stream.

Kyouka stepped out and splashed on a small puddle. She twirled around on the heel of her boots, back to him. "The rain is great, huh?" She wondered, staring up, trying to catch the image of the endless raindrops.

He stared up with her and agreed. He lowered his gaze back down to her. "K-Kyouka." A dearly whispered note. Her amethyst eyes were reflecting the sky and rain, with a surreal glimmer.

"Hm..." She stopped her sky gazing and looked back at him. A blush spread across her cheeks and her earphone jacks squirmed. She crossed her arms, with a forced, look away, pout. "Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer?" Her stomach was beating drums and pounding it from her heart. She kind of did wish they had a picture though, today was fun.

"Heh? No, sorry." He dropped his head. "I, um, I got lost in your eyes."

She rubbed one arm, then uncrossed them. "You're such a softy." She walked towards him with a grin. "Don't apologize for everything." She pulled out her phone.

"Nani? Kyouka?"

She locked her arm around his neck, bringing him down in a headlock. "Say cheese!" She lifted her phone at the both of them.

And click

A photo in the rain. Both of them with cheerful grins.

* * *

Midoriya and Jirou ran, to try and escape the heavy rain. They laughed, stepping on the bus. The bus driver grumbled at the squeaky shoes and wet stomps.

They sighed, sitting down. The heater was on and they enjoyed the warmth before their stop.

They reluctantly got off, close to Jirou's home.

They walked at a brisk pace. "I can let you borrow an umbrella." She yelled over the rain.

"Thank you." He replied just as loud.

She opened the front gate of her home and led them to the front door. She unlocked it, and they entered.

"Make yourself at home." She took off her shoes and jacket. Izuku copied her, placing his shoes next to hers. "Wanna chill until the rain dies down?" She mumbled, walking into the living room.

"S-Sure, but what about your parents?"

"Huh? Them? They usually go on tour together. Won't be back for a few days." She began to walk up the stairs. "I got, um, my guitar, in my room."

"Oh, r-right" He remembered the real reason they were supposed to hang out. They lost track at the arcade. 'I mean it was a date, I think.' He followed her up to her room.

"A-Awesome." He was bewildered by the number of instruments in the room. A drum set in the corner. A few electric and bass guitars on the wall. 'Even the tambourine is here...' "You actually play all these?" He cheerfully asked.

"Yeah, the basics." But it was shy. She twiddled her earphone jacks together.

"Wow, you're really cool Kyouka." He smiled warmly at her.

And that gave her courage. "Thanks." She returned the smile, picking up the guitar on her bed. "Let's go out in the veranda. There's some shelter. We should enjoy the rain some more, right Izuku?"

Deku followed her, closing the sliding door behind him.

A rush of the cool weather surrounded them. The wind swept a few strands of her hair around.

"The city looks amazing." He mused, leaning on the railing.

"It does, doesn't it?" She was leaning on the corner, sharing his rainy skyline view. She smirked to herself. She lifted her guitar. She took a deep breath. 'Now or never.'

The pebble-like sound of the raindrops, resonated with the gentle acoustic cords strummed.

Izuku perked up, his eyes peeled away from the city, to her.

Her eyes were closed, she let herself unravel with the rainy melody. Her shoulders rose to each gentle strum and dropped, switching her fingers up. She hummed absently to her own tune. Hitting a different chord, her eyes opened slightly, tenderly focused on her passionately slow rhythm.

He gulped.

'It was a simple song and few different chords, but the beauty in her unspoken lyrics were better played, besides the droplets in harmony, and I thought,'

"You're beautiful..." Unknowingly, speaking his thoughts, as she brought her song to a stop.

"Huh?!" She shot her eyes to him, but her instant tantrum stopped. The glaze of his rain shaded eyes tugged at her heart. Her lips curved up a little. "Geez, what are you talking about?"

Midoriya heard the sincere vocal wondering of her words. He reaffirmed himself and walked up to her.

She was leaning on the railing, looking away, gripping her guitar.

"I, um, Kyouka," He tried to explain. She slightly faced him. "I really like you!" He rushed out, eyes shut.

She gasped with wide eyes, now facing him completely.

He dared to open them. "Ara?"

Her eyes held a liquid shine, about to spill, her cheeks were pale to the rain but held a cold blush, and her lips had a heart played, quivered, smile. "You idiot." She croaked weakly, but earnestly. "Aren't hero's supposed to be confident when they confess?"

His eyes grew, then softened. "Yeah." He attempted again.

He placed his hands on her tense shoulders. Both just as nervous. Their eyes met and he respoke his words. "I l-like you, Kyouka." He felt her shoulders given in.

"I like you too, Izuku." Her face was flustered, but she forced herself to keep her composure. She closed her eyes and leaned slightly towards him.

He almost flinched back. 'A k-kiss?!' His grip on her shoulders tightened slightly before he resolved himself. He tilted his head and closed his eyes.

'When our lips met, I believed, I was tasting the emotions behind the gentle notes of her song.'

Kyouka laid her guitar to the side, as she pressed her body on Izuku. Their clothes were damp and squished together. Her fingers clutched the fabric of his collar. His hands slid down her shoulders, to her slim waist. He leaned on her, her back arched behind the railing. The faces were tempting the weather, and it graced them with gentle droplets on their skin as their lips embraced.


	6. Chapter 6

6

Seeds to create

Jirou panted as their lips broke apart. "Izuku." Her hot breath came out from the cold air. She pressed her forehead against his. Her fingers slid up his collar, one groomed his hair, droplets sprinkled off as her hand ran through. Her other hand played with the top button of his shirt, deciding whether or not to unbutton it.

Midoriya couldn't believe this was happening. "Kyouka, I-" He breathlessly whispered. He couldn't finish. Their bodies were so intimate and the taste of her breath lingered among the smell of rain. He held back a groan. His hands subconsciously hugged her tighter.

"Yeah?" She moaned, not caring for his response.

"Um..." He scrunched his eyebrows not knowing how to ask, not knowing if he should.

Kyouka playfully rolled her eyes. She clutched the locks of his hair and lowered his face down to her lips. She pushed herself off the wall and forced Izuku to walk backward, during their lip-locked affair. "It's your fault." She reached her goal, sliding open the door. She stepped inside, breaking the kiss only for a moment. She grabbed his collar and pulled him inside, crashing their lips together again. "You and that adorable, caring, supportive, nonsense, made me fall for you, so own up to it."

Deku nodded against the rosy warm lips that contradicted her cold skin. He took a few steps forward, making her go back. Her leg touched the edge of her bed. She smirked, feeling his hesitation. She had a firm grip on his neck. She fell back, dragging him on the bed, on top of her.

The cheerful squeak of the mattress springs resonated with her loving giggles.

Izuku was on his elbows staring down at the joyful voice. Her laughter slowed to a caring smile. She noticed his captivated face. "What's so funny?" Natural happiness in her words.

He shook his head. "No, nothing. I'm just really happy." He grinned. He clasped one hand on her cheek and tenderly rubbed his thumb over her skin. "I'm happy with you, Kyouka." He lingered his lips down.

"Me too." She whispered, right before their lips met.

They passionately continued their make-out session until the rain died down.

* * *

The phone on Jirou's desk kept vibrating, but she was too busy to answer it.

"She didn't answer again." Momo sighed. She lowered her studying glasses and stared out the window. "I hope she's fine, in this rain. She said she was going out." She glanced at her phone lock screen. A picture of her and Jirou in front of the school. "She's probably fine." She ignored her premonitions and went back to studying. "Kaminari asked such a ridiculous favor from me... but I-"

"I'm Jirou's friend." A window was open. "Yes, only Jirou's friend." A droplet landed on the lock screen.

* * *

Momo had decided to walk to school today. She didn't want her personal driver to take her for some reason. "Some fresh air is exactly what I need!" She placed her hands over her chest and nodded with a bounce.

She perked up. Down the street from her was, "Jirou!" She jogged to catch up to her friend.

"Hm, oh hey Momo!" Jirou sounded more upbeat than usual.

"I'm glad I ran into you, I don't usually walk, so it's great to meet a friend along the way, ne?" Her innocent voice was so pure.

"Yeah, it totally is," Jirou replied with a voice just as pure and her face in blank bliss. 'Momo must be protected.'

Momo fidgeted slightly but eased into the question. "So, you went somewhere this weekend, right? I know you said it wasn't a big deal, but I hope the rain didn't damper your plans."

Jirou's cheeks tinted slightly. "I-It actually was a bigger deal than I thought."

Momo pretended not to notice the smile Jirou was trying to hide.

"I see." With a straight face. She gulped but decided to ask Kaminari's question. "I have been wondering for a while now Jirou, about-" She glanced left and right, "Eh, Jirou?" She spotted her taking a wrong turn. She hurriedly walked to her. "Mind if I ask why you took this turn? School is farther this way, right?"

Jirou nodded. "Yeah, but I usually meet Izuku at a crosswalk at the end of the street, and we usually take his route from there." She nonchalantly told her but then realized what she just said. She waved her arms in front of Momo. "B-But please don't tell him!"

Momo tilted her head. "Nani? Why would it be a problem?"

Jirou sighed and ruffled her hair with cringy eyes. "Because, I mean, if he finds out I go out of my way to meet him, even though it takes longer to get to school that way, then he'll probably just go out of his way and wake up earlier to meet somewhere more convenient for me, not him." But she was forcing herself not to smile. "That damn Izuku would do something so miniscule thinking of others."

Momo gasped. "I never knew you understood Midoriya so well. I guess that's to be expected since you both have been spending so much time together." She accidentally bit her lower lip. "So, you don't want to tell him, because it will shorten your walks to school?" 'Meaning less time with Midoriya, isn't that right?' Momo didn't know if she wanted to hear the answer. 'But for Kaminari's sake, I will find out!'

"Huh? Yeah sure, I guess that's part of it." Jirou was staring down intently. "But someone like Izuku is always pushing himself. I doubt he is always getting the proper sleep, because of his work ethic. I don't mind meeting him here, so he could get the rest he needs. Even if it's just a little bit, if I can lighten his load then I will without missing a beat."

Earnest lyrics that touched Momo. "Jirou, you're so!" Momo had her mouth open with praise.

"Eh? H-Hey, quit it," Jirou was flustered from Momo's reaction. "It's not a big deal." She shrugged her shoulders.

Momo shook her head. "I understand! I won't tell Midoriya, no! I won't tell a soul! My lips are sealed!"

Jirou had deadpan eyes of appreciation. 'Seriously... I must protect innocent Momo.'

Momo was so lost in her promise, she forgot an important factor. 'Jirou must be infatuated with Midoriya... I'm sorry Kaminari.'

"Kyouka!" His voice cheered as he jogged across the street. He was waving at her. Momo noticed Jirou excitedly wave back. Momo had wide eyes. The shine they both emitted, only happened for happy couples. 'No, not just infatuation, could it be that they? N-No, it's too soon for anything like that between them... right?' Momo stared with parted lips.

Unmoving.

"Hey to you too, Yaoyorozu." Midoriya had a cheerful grin. "You gonna walk with us, today." He then handed an umbrella to Kyouka. "Here, Kyouka. Thanks for letting me use it!"

Momo continued to stare at them. Her eyes kept shifting between the exchange.

"Hey, you could have given it to me later!" Jirou shoved it back into his arms. "I don't need it." Jirou didn't want Momo to get the wrong idea. 'Technically she would be right, but it's too soon to reveal our relationship to people.'

Deku, oh dense Deku, didn't understand. "But Mom says it's rude not to return things when your done using them, besides, if it rains again, we could just share it!" With a heroic smile.

'I lost to his reasoning...' Jirou didn't know how to react. Izuku was being his usual caring self that made her squirm, and in front of others, it just made it worse. "Y-Yeah you're right." Jirou's earphones were forming a double helix. 'I just hope Momo doesn't notice.

Momo had an innocent awed blush. "A squirmish Jirou. I-I have to take a picture!" She was creating a camera!

'Shit! She did!' Jirou rushed away from the scene, with a brisk pace. "Thanks a lot, Izuku!"

"Eh? Kyouka?" He was dumbfounded, but quickly chased after his, gulp, 'm-my girlfriend.'

"H-Hey wait up!" Momo followed after them, trying to snap a picture of a flustered Jirou.

Jirou eventually slowed down. Midoriya was to her left and Momo to her right.

"Sorry." Izuku sincerely apologized. "I had no idea you were scared of umbrellas."

Jirou tried to be angry but cracked up. "What?! Izuku, I'm not scared of-, you know what, whatever man. You're such a smart dumbass!" She had one arm on his shoulder and the other clutching her gut, laughing her ass off.

Izuku rubbed his hair with a bashful smile and pink cheeks. He knew this was her special way of showing affection. "By the way, um, Uraraka, Iida, and I are going to the mall this weekend. I was wondering if you wanted to go, you know bring everyone! You too Yaoyorozu, and Kaminari!"

"Sure sounds fun. We haven't hung out in a while, huh Momo? My bad." She apologized and invited one of her closest friends.

"Yes, it will be lovely. We can even take my limo." She wanted to be the best to all of her friends and a day at the mall with a limo ride sounded fun.

Midoriya and Jirou had the same smile of blank-bliss.

'Protect Momo.'

'Yaoyorozu is so kind, and must be protected.'

"Nani, is something wrong?" Momo was adorably confused by their faces.

"Nothing at all." They said in unison, still with those stupid smiles.

"Okay." She answered back with a sweatdrop. "But I have something to ask?"

"Sure, anything." They replied.

"Are you two d-dating?"

That wiped the smiles off their faces.

"E-Eh? Yaoyorozu? Why would you assume th-that?! I mean just because we have been hanging out lately, and because we spend time together outside of school, and even if I was just trying to give her back her umbrella-"

"Shut up, Izuku." Kyouka had to interrupt his rambling. It was hurting more than helping. She looked down, then made eye contact with Momo. "Yeah, we are."

Izuku dropped his jaw! 'She told her?! But she made a big deal about keeping it a secret! Why Kyouka?!'

It was an intense silence for Jirou and Momo.

Jirou bit her lip in anticipation.

Momo ignored her thoughts and only asked one question. "Are you happy?"

Midoriya felt uncomfortable. Although the subject was about him, it obviously wasn't a conversation for him to join. 'Kyouka and Yaoyorozu have been friends since the U.S.J. event, of course, it's natural for her to worry about Kyouka.' For some reason that hurt Midoriya. 'What if I'm not good enough for Kyouka...'

"Yeah." A sincere chord.

Momo sighed content. "Then I'm happy for you!"

Jirou let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Thank god, I was worried for a moment, but can I ask for a favor Momo?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can you not tell anyone about us?"

"Yes, but why?"

Midoriya was wondering that too.

Kyouka could feel Izuku's curiosity. She turned to him and then back at Momo. "Look, it's just, I'm uncomfortable with people knowing my business. Izuku, this is our relationship, right? We don't need others involved with it. I-Is that okay with you?"

'So that's it. She just values her privacy.' Deku sighed a smile at her adorable worry. 'And she is asking for my stand on the matter.' "It's not a problem at all, Kyouka. We can take it as slow as you need."

Jirou blushed profoundly. "Izuku, you dummy." Her hand was timidly cuffing the wrist of his sleeve. It slid down to his hand, and their fingers interlocked.

Momo gushed out. "Of course I won't tell! I'm just so happy for you both!" She locked her thoughts away and tackled them both into a hug.

* * *

Before they entered the classroom Momo held Izuku back.

"Hm, what is it Yaoyorozu?"

"I need you to promise me something, Midoriya."

Izuku flinched back slightly. 'I've never seen her eyes so dedicated and focused.' "S-Sure, what is it?"

"Promise me, you won't hurt her." Almost begging.

Izuku gasped with wide eyes. 'Her words are simple, but her voice sounds so complex...' He nodded with hard eyes. "I promise."


	7. Chapter 7

7

Mall melody

 _"So? What did she say?" Kaminari bugged Momo._

 _Kirishima sighed at the electric kid's enthusiasm. "I got a bad feeling man."_

 _"Hey, don't jinx it!" Kaminari whined._

 _"Eto, she didn't give me a direct answer, but we're all invited to the mall this weekend. J-Jirou will be there too..." Momo tried to sound upbeat. 'I can't mention her relationship with Midoriya.'_

 _"Really?" Kaminari sparked up. "Dude, that's my chance! I'll definitely play my cards and ask her out." Kaminari was rocking out to his idea._

 _Kirishima had an uneasy grin. "Yeah, I guess I'll go too. Someone needs to be there when you get shot down."_

 _"Oh come on man." Kaminari begged. Kirishima gave him a pat on the shoulder._

 _Momo flinched with calculating eyes. 'Did Kirishima find out about Midoriya and Jirou? No, relax Momo. Kirishima is just a good judge of character. He must know Jirou only sees Kaminari as a friend.'_

 _"It will be fun!" Momo was trying really hard to be upbeat, and not reveal that she knew the truth._

* * *

"K-Kacchan too?!" Deku's eyes bulged out. Midoriya was the last one they picked up from the limo. Momo was waiting outside for him and informed him of all who were inside.

"Are you sure we will all fit?" Midoriya had an unsure expression. It was a handful of people.

Momo nodded triumphantly. "Of course we do! Once I enrolled into U.A. I made sure my personal limo had enough room for all my classmates!" Sounding enthusiastically motherly.

"P-Personal limo..." 'Yaoyorozu is amazing... Must. Protect.' Izuku was falling under her rich girl spell again. He shook those thoughts away.

He entered the limo, but before he could, "You still remember your promise right?" She asked with eyes staring off.

He stopped for a moment, looking back at her. He smiled. "Yeah, thanks for your blessing, Yaoyorozu." He whispered, opening the door, and joining everyone inside.

Momo was outside, alone. She placed a fist over her chest. "It wasn't a blessing..."

* * *

Midoriya balled his fist over his pants.

In the limo, he was sitting in between Uraraka and Iida.

Jirou was sitting in between Yaoyorozu and Kaminari.

Not important, but Kirishima and Kacchan were sitting in the back, side by side, both with crossed arms. Them and Momo were the only ones aware of Kaminari's plan.

Midoriya was doing his best to ignore how Kaminari was flirting with Jirou. 'Our relationship isn't out in the open, so it would only be natural for us to sit beside our closest friends, but still...'

Bakugou had rolled his eyes and had his lower lip out, grinding his teeth. Deku and Jirou were trying not to show it, but they were constantly flashing their eyes to eachother with worried affection. It pissed him.

"Hey Deku, we should go rock-climbing, the mall has awesome features like that!" Uraraka cheered, pretending to rock-climb.

"Jirou, I heard there's a vintage music room also, wanna check it out?" Kaminari smiled at her.

"Huh? O-Oh sure." She forced a smile. She was distracted by Uraraka's big personality. 'Does Izuku prefer those energetic people?' She was wallowing in insecurity.

"Everyone, we have arrived." Yaoyorozu used her hand to present the view out her window.

"Hm, where should we go first?" Midoriya was staring up at the absent ceiling, towards the sky. They had entered the mall and were bunched up as a group of teens.

"Get your ass over here, Deku." Kacchan dragged him by the shirt.

"Eh? K-Kacchan?" He was almost chocked by the collar pressing against his neck. Everyone else could only sweatdrop.

Kirishima sighed. 'But, this will give Kaminari a chance at least, sorry Midoriya.' He glanced at her. She looked the most depressed with Izuku's absent presence. 'Who am I kidding, Kaminari just get it over with.' He glared at Kaminari to get him moving with his plan. Kaminari nodded with a dense smirk.

"Y-Yo, Jirou, like I said let's check out that store, right?" He didn't notice her worry over Izuku.

She snapped out of it. "Um, yeah." She dropped her anxiety. 'It's not a big deal. Bakugou and Izuku have a special relationship we can't hope to understand. They were childhood friends.' She subconsciously smiled. Midoriya was open to her about everything. (Almost everything, she doesn't know about his connection to All-Might and one for all.) Izuku has told her about Kacchan and how he was quirkless for most of his life. 'Izuku still applied to U.A. being quirkless and everything, and I'm really glad he never gave up. I would have never met him if he did.' She twirled her finger around one of her earphone jacks, bushing bashfully. 'That adorable dork.' They entered the store Kaminari was talking about, but her mind was elsewhere. 'I hope I at least get to spend time with him, today...'

* * *

Gulp. "K-Kacchan, um w-why did you bring me here?" They were in one of the many restrooms in the mall. 'It's always difficult between us.'

"That damn earphone girl!" He barked.

"Hiee!" Izuku stepped back with his arms up in defense and bumped on the sink. "Nani? What about Kyouka?"

"Fried-brains is going to ask her out." He mumbled in an out of character sincere concern. His hands were in his pockets.

Deku grew emerald orbs of worry. Kacchan expected as much. "K-kaminari is?" He dropped his arms and clenched his fists, his hair shadowed his eyes. He released his grip with a deep breath. He was scared of losing Kyouka, 'but I can't mention our relationship. I need to trust her.' He rose his eyes to Kacchan with a forced smile. "W-Why are you telling me?"

Kacchan's calm half-lidded eyes didn't change. "I guess if you're fine with it." He grumbled without a much of a care and left the restroom.

Before he left he heard a whisper. "Thank you for telling me, Kacchan."

Bakugou heard the anxious worry in his voice. His glared eyes did not glance at Deku. He kept walking out, swinging open the door. "Shut it Deku. Heroes should do the right thing, even for trivial shit like this." And left. "I could care less about your relationship with her."

Deku had flabbergasted eyes. 'Kacchan is crude, but his morality is amazing.' Then his thoughts traveled to Jirou and Kaminari. 'Th-They actually look like a good pair together, better than me and her.' His eyes were liquid. 'What if she says yes?' He sucked in a determined breath. "No! Stop beating yourself up about this." He wiped one eye with his thumb. He turned on the faucet and splashed water on his face before slapping his cheeks. "She's you're girlfriend!" He told the mirror version of himself and they both nodded. He left the bathroom with his usual quirky bounce.

The spilled water dripped off the sink and splashed on the tile floor like raindrops.

Raindrops were they shared their first kiss.

* * *

"I-I should look for that shop Kaminari was talking about." Deku was walking at a brisk pace. "Even if our relationship is private, it doesn't mean I can just sit around and do nothing."

"Deku!" Uraraka exclaimed, clasping his hand with her hyper attitude, but made sure not to use her pinky. "C'mon let's go rock-climbing, right Iida?" She turned her head to Iida, except he wasn't there. "Huh? But he was here a moment ago? Weird."

Deku swore he heard Iida's evil laugh in the distance and the smell of exhaust pipes. 'D-Did he use his recipo burst? Why?'

"Hey how about we just go, Deku?" She began dragging him to the play zone.

Deku tried to hesitate, "B-But-," He stopped his words. 'I don't even know where Kyouka is, blowing off Uraraka would be selfish.' He calmed himself. 'Trust Kyouka.' "Sure. Let's go have some fun." He smiled. He pulled his hand away from hers, walking beside her. Uraraka didn't show the slight dejection she felt from the loss of his warm palm.

'I wonder if Jirou has held it?'

* * *

"Hey, this is a cool vinyl!" Jirou carefully lifted the large disk. "It's so vintage!"

Kaminari admired her cool squeal. "I knew you'd like this place."

"Yeah, it's awesome." She agreed, staring enthusiastically at the item in her possession.

He glanced around. It was a pretty empty store, with only the cashier and a few music fanatics. 'This is the perfect place.' He had one hand in his pocket and raised the other one halfway up his torso, in a questioning manner. "Hey, um, Jirou?"

She finally peeled her eyes away from it and made eye contact with him. "What's up?" Her smile had lingered from the joy of music and it distracted Kaminari.

He scratched his hair, breaking the contact, looking down, nervously. "I was wondering, do you want to go out tomorrow?" He gave her an uneasy grin, meeting her eyes.

Her amethyst eyes grew and her fingers slipped, almost dropping the record. She caught it before it fell from her hands. "What? Like a date?"

"Yeah, I mean, don't you think we go good together?" Nudging his head for some hope that she agreed.

She slowly placed the record back in its place, making sure it was fine. She sighed but faced him. "Look, Kaminari, you're great and all, I even think it's hysterical when you go brain dead. But I only see you as a friend. I'm sorry."

His smile slowly faded and a frown emerged. He hid it with a forced laugh. "Hey, don't worry about it, I just thought I would take a chance before Izuku made a move."

She felt a little guilty. Izuku had already snuck his way into her heart. 'It's not like we intended for it to happen, but... Should I tell him? I owe him that much don't I?' She rubbed her arm with a delay. 'No, how would telling him help. I would just be hurting him more.' "We can still be friends, right?"

Kaminari shrugged, but his heart wasn't in it. "That's cliché dude." He had a toothy grin. "Of course we still are. Being positive is more my style, anyways."

She could hear the crack in his voice lie and see the hesitation in his grin. She played along because acknowledging it would be painful on both sides. "Y-Yeah, glad to here."

"Maaan, I'm hungry. I'm going get some grub at the food court, wanna come?"

"You go on ahead, I'm a go look for Momo, she probably went shopping for some new clothes." She could tell he was only being polite. They would just be bad company together.

A light-hearted chuckle. "Yeah, she would. I don't get why she just doesn't make clothes. Whatever, see ya." He waved off and left.

Outside of the outlet, Jirou scanned left and right. "I wonder where Izuku is?" She began to go look for him.

* * *

"This is fun, huh?" Uraraka was higher up the rock-climbing wall.

Izuku was only a few feet up. He was shaking. "Y-Yeah, U-Uraraka." Gulp.

Uraraka giggled. How was he a scaredy-cat during simple activities like this, but brave and heroic during a crisis. "Here, let me help." She crawled back down and placed her hand on his arm.

"Eh, I'm-I'm floating!"

"Come on Deku!"

He nodded and rushed to the top. They were both breathing hard but with a smile. "Thank you, Uraraka."

"No problem!" She cheered. "Wanna go again?"

"Eto, one is enough for me, but you go ahead, I'll watch."

"Aww, man, but that's no fun. We can do something else if you want?"

He rubbed his chin, thinking. "How about we go look for the others. We should all grab a bite to eat." In truth, he wanted to spend time with Kyouka.

"S-Sure!" Forcing out her preppy attitude. She wanted this time to be alone with Deku.

The left the play zone and were walking through the second story platform, alongside the outlets.

"Hey Deku?" Uraraka had stopped walking.

"Hm, what is it?" He turned his head back to her, but then his body completely faced her, noticing her expression. "Is something wrong?"

Her eyes were shadowed by her bangs, she had a determined aura. "What..." She clenched her fist shut for strength and released it. "What do you think of me?"

Deku had a dense, closed eye, smile plastered on his face. "What do you mean?" He ruffled his green hair. "I think you're quirk is amazing. You have a pretty noble reason to be a hero, even if you acted like it wasn't at first." He was rambling again, without giving a direct answer. "You and Iida are my best friends, so-"

Uraraka bit her bottom lip. "That's not what I meant."

Deku stopped his words with a confused expression. "Huh, Uraraka?"

"I meant this!" She took a skip step forward and grabbed his collar, pressing him against her.

His red shoes squeaked with surprise, and she affectionately rose one foot back, off the ground during their kiss.

His eyes were wide at Uraraka's action. But then they shattered like glass reflecting a broken trust in her voice. She whispered the saddest melody ever told.

"I-Izuku..?"


	8. Chapter 8

8

'Can I take your hand if you promise not to let go.'

Izuku stumbled back, pushing Uraraka off. "Kyouka! It's not-! I c-can explain!" He switched his shoe work forward and scurried to her.

She didn't let her legs shake. She didn't bite her lower lip. Her eyes weren't quivering. She wasn't heartbroken...

She turned around on the heel of her leather strap boots. "Fuck off." She kept her voice even.

She didn't let him see any of that.

None of it, as she walked away...

"Kyouka, wait!" He reached out his hand, chasing after her. 'Please!'

"...Deku." Uraraka felt a constricted beat in her chest. 'What... did I do?'

Izuku politely trudged through the hordes of people, trying to keep up with her. "K-Kyouka!" He was shoved to the side by a rambunctious crowd of teens. They apologized, some rude others polite.

"Leave me alone." She shouted over her shoulder. Izuku didn't listen and pushed on. Kyouka flicked a salty liquid off her eye with her earphone jack. 'I'm not crying. I'm not.' She picked up the pace of her steps, and her heels clicked with a frustrated tempo.

Izuku didn't see her quiet action, not knowing how much he hurt her. 'I need to talk to her!'

Kyouka reached one of the escalators and walked down it, not caring for the people who were waiting for it to lower them. She weaved in between them with no problem. She headed straight for the exit and left.

Izuku was forced to wait behind a mob of people blocking the path. He ran his hand through his hair impatiently. Once he got off the escalator, he booked it for the exit. "Where'd she go?!" He was outside, standing in the middle of the bustling city. The street lights and cars obscured his view. He couldn't spot her. He decided to walk in the direction of her home. "It's my best bet."

'Should I use full cowling.' He shook his head. 'No, All-Might gave me this power to become a hero. Using it selfishly for my personal problems would be the farthest thing from a hero. He trusted me with One-for-All, I can't use it for this, no matter how badly I need to explain the situation to Kyouka. I can solve this on my own. I need too!' He resolved himself and jogged forward.

* * *

Kirishima, Momo, and Kaminari were all talking about how he got shot down. Bakugou was chowing on his food, only grunting along to the conversation.

"So it's game over." Kaminari finished. "Man, how do we recover from this. I mean, I still want to be friends with her, but now, ugh, I should have kept my mouth shut."

Kirishima disagreed. "Nah man, you put your heart on the line. It was truly manly!"

Momo nodded along, confused about how she felt. Sad that Kaminari stuck out, but also relief... 'Yeah... I'm happy for Jirou and Midoriya. Really...' She rose a teacup she created to her lips.

"Hey, guys." Uraraka had found them. They all glanced out her. She didn't have that energetic flow. She was disheartened, rubbing one of arms with her hand.

"What's wrong with you?" Kirishima rose an eyebrow.

Uraraka sighed. "I kissed Deku, but-"

Shatter.

All heads turned to Yaoyorozu.

Shards of a cup and spilled tea.

"E-Excuse me! I-I'll clean this up, right away."

Uraraka explained the story to them.

The usually calm and collected Momo, cut her palm picking up the broken pieces of her conflicting emotions...

* * *

Izuku didn't wait for the bus, he didn't know when it would arrive, and he was getting restless.

He ran down the backstreets of the neighborhood. He knew a few shortcuts, from his morning jogs. 'That's right, that's how I got to know her.'

Without realizing it, he wound up at the park. "Huh? Kyouka does live close by, actually, that's her house." He saw a building peeking out from the other side of the park. "That's why she was here so early that day." And in her pink Pajamas pants and a black tank top. Izuku held back a smile. He never thought pink would be a good color on her but it matched her morning vibe. 'And her music was really beautiful.'

Sniffles.

Izuku stopped his mental reply. His eyes were wide as he stared at the bench next to the pond. "K-Kyouka..." His voice hesitated with hurt.

She had her knees up to her chest, curled up against the armrest, her face buried in her hands.

Crying out a somber sob.

'I did that to her...' Izuku's throat was dry. He his feet stumbled onward, carrying guilt with every step.

She flinched. She wiped the left behind tears. Her puffy eyes narrowed with a glare. "I said get lost." She scolded, then sniffled again. She sat up, straightening herself up on the bench. She kept her punk attitude on display.

"I, um..." But how could he finish? Her cheeks had damp trails, her nose and eyes were rubbed red. She was forcing herself. Izuku almost gasped, seeing her bottom lip quiver. He bit his own to stop himself.

"Kyouka..." He could only stare down in shame. "She kissed me." He admitted.

"Oh, that makes everything so much better!" She threw her arms up along with her earphone jacks. "I trusted you." Dropping her arms and shield.

"And you still can! I swear, it didn't mean anything!" He took a step to her, clutching his hand over his chest.

"Even if didn't." her breath choked and her voice cracked a sad pitch. "How am I supposed to be okay with it..."

Deku felt a painful throb. 'Logically speaking, it's easy to forgive something that wasn't your fault, but emotionally is something else completely. Even when I knew I couldn't be a hero when I was quirkless I never gave up, because my feelings for it refused to. Did I rob Kyouka of her feelings... If someone took that from me... I'm so sorry Kyouka.' "Can't we talk this out." He needed to apologize at the very least.

Kyouka didn't look like she was going to answer. Izuku took his best bet and sat beside her on the bench. "After Bakugou dragged me away. I went looking for you..." He was about to continue but she interrupted during his pause.

"Then how the fuck do you end up tongue-tied with Uraraka!" She glared at him, but her eyes were threatening to spill.

He stuttered back. "Sh-She bumped into me and wanted to hang out. How was I supposed to say no? She's one of my best friends, and I-"

"I think you mean, friends with benefits." She scoffed.

"Kyouka please, I'm trying to explain." Placing his hand out in the space between them.

"And you want to know what I was doing? Rejecting Kaminari. It was tough yeah, but why couldn't you do the same?"

Izuku felt a wave of ironic pain. 'And I was so insecure about losing her...' His green eyes were a shade darker. "I didn't know she was going to-"

"For the love of God Izuku! Enough with the excuses!" She crossed her arms and faced away. "You don't think I know what everyone else says?"

"Wh-What? Kyouka I don't know what you're talking about."

She heaved her chest with a fragile sigh, not believing him. "They're always talking about how you guys are perfect for each other. Everyone wants you guys together, so just go do it already."

Izuku's eyes grew along with every word of her sentence. "B-But what about what we want? Don't we deserve to decide?" He forced a smile. 'Look at me, please..!'

She reluctantly did. Their eyes met and Izuku's lips lifted with some hope. She was internally fighting between reaching out to him or letting go... "What I want?" She whispered with hidden eyes.

"Yeah, Kyouka. I promise nothing like that will ever happen again."

She uncrossed her arms, dropping them beside his, on the bench. She sagged her shoulders.

Raindrops on the bench...

"I think we should break up."


	9. Chapter 9

9

Reminiscent reminisce

"B-Break up? Y-You can't be serious? T-Tell me you're joking, Kyouka."

"Izuku... Don't you think we rushed into this too fast?"

"... I, maybe, but that doesn't change anything, does it? I want to be with you, only you."

"I'm... It's just scary, alright. I need time to think."

"...Kyouka..."

* * *

 _Izuku pulled his lips away. He opened his eyes to stare down at her._

 _She was waiting for his lips to reclaim hers. They didn't. She peeked, slightly opening her eyelids._

 _He was smiling. His green orbs held a tender misty shine. His thumb smoothed over her newly rosy cheeks._

 _Her hand slid down his arm, it ended over his fist, holding it dearly. "What are you doing?" Sighing out a loving lyric._

 _Izuku's eyes took in her radiating raindrop melody beauty. He lowered his forehead and pressed it against her weather pale one. "Enjoying this moment."_

 _She tilted her head confused. "You're so weird." She breathed out affectionately, hugging locks of his hair. Her thighs warm-wantingly smothered around his waist._

 _Their eyes were hidden and their lips embraced._ _The rain, it streamed down the window. Droplets reunited and broke apart, falling down..._

* * *

Midoriya had a blank broken stare. The rain was splashing on the pond in front of him. "Ara?" His eyes helplessly rose to the sky. He lowered them again, staring at the piano key played pond.

Kyouka was gone.

He slumped up, subconsciously. His red boots trudged through mud, as he walked home. Drops slipped off his hair, running down his face accompanied by a liquid that would blink out of his eyes.

He stepped inside his home, greeted by his mom. "Izuku dear! Did you have fun at the mall? Did you go with that polite girl you brought a few days ago?" Referring to Jirou.

"Hey, mom." His voice was somber, and he didn't really pay attention to anything. "I'm kind of tired. I think I'm just gonna go to bed." He didn't glance at anything in particular, as he walked to his room. He had jaded empty eyes.

"Izuku? Oh, okay?"

He changed out of his wet clothes into dry, home, clothes. He sighed along with the mattress springs as he collapsed on it.

"What do I do now..?" He weakly whispered, going to sleep.

* * *

 _They were perched on the edge of the veranda. Their legs were dangling along to the calm wind._

 _Jirou held out her hand. "The rain is my favorite." Catching slips of water._

 _The grey clouds were enveloping the coming night, blocking out the sunset._

 _Izuku rocked back and forth. "I like the sunshine, but I could like this too..." He smiled to himself. "Especially after today."_

 _Jirou tensed but then turned to him._

 _Izuku covered his mouth. "Crap, did I say that out loud!" With bright red cheeks._

 _She giggled. Her hand went under his jaw and sneakily grabbed the cheek faced away from her. She pulled him close and pecked the edge of his lip and cheek. "Chill, Izuku." But her voice wasn't hardcore, it was a scratchy whisper._

 _His hand left the ledge and landed on her lap. He turned his head to her and their noses nuzzled._

 _"Izuku?"_

 _"Hm?" He released a comfortable note._

 _Her hands held his face and his kept hold of her body._

 _"How did we? Is this even happening?"_

 _He nodded his head against hers. He answered her questions with a delicate press to the lips._

 _She smiled at his response. She rested her head on his shoulder, lowering her hands to his chest and back. "Let's stay like this for a while." She sighed, staring at the melancholic mood of the rainy city skyline._

* * *

Click. She opened the door and slammed it shut.

"Oh hi, Kyouka! Would you be interested-" Her mom and dad we back. Her mother was about to offer a signed poster of a band they toured with.

"I'm going to my room." She grumbled, running up the stairs.

"What's with her?" Her dad mumbled from the living room.

"Hm, I wonder if it's about a boy?"

They heard her yank open the door and slam it, just as how she entered.

Jirou ran straight out to the veranda, dropping her crossed arms on the ledge and placing her head on it.

 _"Tsuyu! You hang out with Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka sometimes, right? So, who likes who? "_

 _Tooru, I don't think it's okay to talk about this in the locker room."_

 _"Oh come on! I bet it's Midoriya and Uraraka, right? Right? I think I saw him trying to ask her out a few days ago."_

 _"Ribbit."_

'That was before we started dating.' Jirou rose her head, staring back at the skyline. "I'm not gonna be someone's second choice." She glared her eyes. 'I saw his lips move along with hers... You can't tell me that didn't mean anything.' She went back inside and slid the door closed, this time without the strength she had.

* * *

 _Ding-dong!_

 _Kyouka_ _took light steps down the stairs of her home. "Who could that be?" She reached the door and opened it. It was noon, yeah, but she was still in her comfy PJs, it was Sunday._

 _"Fear not! I am here!"_

 _"All-Might!" Jirou stumbled back, raising her arms shocked. She lowered them, realizing, "A stuffed doll?"_

 _Two hands were holding him up to her face. He squeezed the doll, and it repeated the phrase. Deku moved his head to the side so she could see him. He_ _revealed a cheerful grin. "Like it?"_

 _"Izuku? You almost gave me a heart attack." She smacked his shoulder. He simply laughed it off._

 _"S-Sorry, but I spent the whole morning playing the claw machine, getting it for you!"_

 _"Huh?" She had confused comical eyes. "But he's, like, your favorite, right?"_

 _He nodded but kept shoving the gift in her hands. "Yeah, but yesterday I saw you eyeing him, you know, back at the arcade!"_

 _Jirou embarrassingly sucked in her lips, keeping them shut. Her cheeks puffed red._

 _"He's your favorite too, ne?"_

 _Her lips came out as a pout, finally giving in and holding the stuffed All-Might doll. "Yeah." She grew more comfortable with the protective gift. "He's the best, huh?!" She proclaimed, staring up at Deku with glimmering eyes of excitement._

 _Izuku chuckled, agreeing completely. "And I thought you would feel safe whenever you hold him. I do, when I hold one of the ones I have!"_

 _Blank stare. "One of the ones you have?"_

 _Cringed eyes without their pupils. "I-I mean! Um!"_

 _She broke into a fit of giggles, embracing the gift. "Thank you, Izuku." Surprising him with a hip-beat skip, smooch._

* * *

"Stupid rain." Kyouka croaked with a cracked voice box. The tapping window from the droplets reminded her and she wanted to only ignore it. She was curled up on her bed, clutching the All-Might doll. She hugged him tighter for a moment to hear it. She buried her mid-night tears on her pillow.

 _"Fear not! I am here!"_ But all she could hear was Deku's voice.

* * *

" _Hey, Izuku?"_

 _"Yeah, Kyouka?"_

 _"I'm glad we're together."_


	10. Chapter 10

10

Conversation with my hero

Izuku was staring across the ocean. The waves reminded him of the months he spent training to become the vessel for One for All. "That seems like so long ago." His eyes reflected the calm droplets splashed on the water. The rain seemed so trivial out here. He reached out from under his umbrella, with his hand. A few streams slipped past his fingers.

He recalled yesterday. 'It can't be over.'

"I am here!" All-Might did his signature superhero skid, appearing behind Midoriya.

"All-Might!" As soon as Izuku spotted him, he reverted back to his weak form, spilling out blood. He smirked while wiping his lip. "Don't act so calm when you're losing so much blood!" Izuku cringed.

"Young Midoriya, why did you call me out here? Is something the matter?"

Izuku felt a little guilty. "Sorry for bothering you so suddenly, it's not even hero related. I just didn't know who else I could talk to."

"Nonsense. You aren't a bother or anything like that. Now, speak your mind, I will gladly listen."

Izuku gulped. 'Is it really okay to talk to All-Might about my personal problems.' He ignored the thought. He stared at the supportive eyes from the symbol of peace. He nodded to himself and began to explain.

"And that's about it." He finished telling All-Might about the mall and the story up until there.

All-Might started intently at Midoriya. He burst out laughing with blood. "And here I thought you were just a nerdy fanboy! But look at my boy, swooning the ladies!" He transformed into his muscle form and gave Midoriya a thumbs up.

"All-Might, I'm being serious here." Izuku felt uncomfortable, getting praise for having had a girlfriend and kissing Uraraka.

All-Might returned back to his weak state with a chuckle. "Sorry, young Midoriya." He rubbed his eye and straightened out his grin. "I just wasn't expecting this kind of a dilemma from you." All-Might's eyes held a focused shine. "But young Midoriya, a bright flame will burn out the fastest."

"Huh, I don't think I follow?" Izuku tilted his head and the umbrella. All-Might noticed that it was an umbrella with a design of him.

He ignored his fanboy side and focused on helping his successor. He coughed before continuing. "From what I can gather, yours and Jirou's emotions conflicted all at once, inevitably snuffing out your romance before it had a chance to bloom."

"Kyouka did mention something about jumping into it too fast, but that shouldn't matter, right?" Izuku pleaded. He didn't want to admit that it was a mistake.

"Izuku my boy, you and Uraraka had time to develop your emotions. It kindled slowly and grew bigger with every interaction you shared until you ultimately walked away, it might have not been your intentions but still... That, unknowingly left Uraraka to keep the fire alive by herself."

"All-Might a-are you saying I messed up with both of them? Did I honestly make a mistake with Kyouka..."

"That is not my point young Midoriya. I am simply stating the situation till now. If it was a mistake or not, is not up to me, it will be up for you to decide." All-Might spread out his arms. "Now, you must decide how you will act from here on out. Will you continue to blindly run forward, or look to those around you and at yourself."

"Those around me? And myself?" Izuku was staring up at him with his emerald eyes.

"Young Midoriya, did you ever consider how insecure anyone can get? Or the strain you put on your friends? Acting rashly and diving head first is how you ended up here in the first place."

"B-But it's not like I did any of that on purpose. It's just Kyouka and me got along so well-"

"And can you imagine how scary that could be for her?"

Izuku flinched his sentence into silence, with orbs. 'S-She said the same thing... and I completely ignored it.'

All-Might put his hands on Izuku's shoulders. "Midoriya, my boy, you're sometimes too kind to a fault. You were so kind to Jirou that she was able to let her guard down around you." All-Might had a thoughtful expression. "For someone as reserved and independent as her to rely on someone and lose that trust, just as fast, must be heart-wrenching for her." All-Might tried to keep his words soft, but saw the growing guilt in Izuku's eyes, until his hair hid the pain. "I'm sorry, but you can't change what is already done."

"... So what should I do All-Might?" It was quietly quivered out.

All-Might sighed. "I can't give you all the answers my boy, for I don't have them. I can say this though. You must acknowledge your feelings and those of others before you take the next step."

"But I already know how I feel about her, and I know if we can just get past this-"

"There you go again, blindly rushing in." All-Might uttered with harsh words. "You will only hurt others again."

Izuku gasped.

"Midoriya, what of your feelings for Uraraka?"

"My feelings to Uraraka, but I don't..." Izuku wasn't able to meet All-Might's looming shadowed eyes. He was clenching his fist and the umbrella tight, looking down and to the side, at the wet sand.

"Young Midoriya, it's understandable to feel something for her, after all the experiences you've shared, but without admitting it, you will only end up hurting Jirou, Uraraka and yourself." The grip he had on Izuku's shoulder tightened. He didn't want to see his successor in pain, physically or emotionally. "Can you honestly say that the kiss you shared with Uraraka was purely one-sided?"

The rain dropped on his umbrella, sliding off the design of All-Might's heroic smile. Izuku couldn't give him an answer and he hated that he couldn't. 'Did I just lie to myself about how I felt for Uraraka, so I could be with Kyouka without feeling guilt...'

All-Might released his grip and stood tall. "It's alright if you can't answer that right now." He stared up at the rain, a few drops landed on his forehead. "But when you do, that will be your first step forward."

Izuku's eyes regained some liquid hope. "All-Might..."

All-Might smiled back down at Izuku, growing into his muscle form. "Now, it's still early! This is the perfect time for you to train! Come on Midoriya, my boy!" He began to jog down the beach.

"Y-Yes!" Izuku rubbed his eyes and gave chase to his hero.

After only a few paces All-Might returned to his frail state, coughing blood.

"A-All-Might!"


	11. Chapter 11

11

Emotions are unpredictable, aren't they?

Izuku stopped at the crosswalk. Kyouka didn't meet him there anymore. He was about to sigh but stopped himself. He huffed up his chest. "No more feeling sorry for myself!" The grip on his backpack straps tightened and he stepped forward.

He crossed the street, and as soon as he stepped on the new sidewalk, he heard loud shuffling, like a motor... 'Wait a minute?' He turned his head. "Iida?!"

"Midoriya! I am so sorry!" Iida screeched to a stop and bowed down in an apology.

"Eh?!" Midoriya was awkwardly panicking. "W-What did you do I-Iida?"

Iida kept his bowed position. "I was the one who came up with the idea for the mall. At first, it was only supposed to be me, you, and Uraraka. But things escalated so quickly that I reevaluated the situation. When I saw you and Bakugou separate from us, I thought that would be Uraraka's best shot for some privacy with you. When we ran into you, I fled before I ruined her chances." He squeezed his eyes shut. "But I wasn't aware of your relationship with Jirou, I only found out till after the fact. If it wasn't for me, you and Jirou would still be meeting here at the crosswalk! And for that, I am truly sorry!"

Izuku kept blinking with confused eyes, absorbing all the information. He had spent the whole day yesterday thinking of All-Might's words. He gave Iida a weak smile. "Thanks for telling me, but it wasn't your fault, Iida."

Iida shook his head. "Uraraka told me everything. I have to make this right. I will talk to Jirou, I promise I'll fix this Midoriya!" He was about to turn and take off. Midoriya grabbed his shoulder, halting him.

"Iida, please wait." Izuku's smile faded away. He had thoughtful eyes. "How would your explanation fix anything?"

"But it's the least I can-"

Izuku shook his head. "Blindly rushing in will only create more problems, if you explain that to Kyouka, then it would only sound like a conspiracy against her, and even more reason for her to push me away." Repeating All-Might's words. He met Iida's eyes. "Besides I told you, it wasn't your fault."

"H-How can you say that? I basically pushed you and Uraraka together!" Looking for an acceptance of his own guilt. He felt like a true villain, pulling the strings behind the curtain.

"Because it was my fault."

"Midoriya..."

Izuku released his grip on Iida's shoulder and they began to walk side by side. "At the mall, I went to go look for Kyouka, but I ran into Uraraka like you said, and I told myself, that it would have been selfish to abandon her..."

"That is reasonable enough." Iida fixed his glasses.

"But if that was true, then why didn't I just bring her along to look for Kyouka or at least the rest of you... I think deep down some part of me was still holding out for her." He had shadowed eyes. "Especially after Kacchan told me Kaminari was going to ask Kyouka out. I fell into a trap of my own insecurity. If I lost Kyouka, I thought I would still have Uraraka to fall back on... But that was the worst thing I could have done. I was insensitive to my feelings, Uraraka's and most of all Jirou's. When Uraraka kissed me, I thought, this was okay, if I ended up with Uraraka then I would be fine with it, Kyouka would have Kaminari and everyone would be happy. That's what I wanted to want, so I kissed her back, but it was wrong, and I think Kyouka felt that too, I was only giving her excuses... Even if it was only for a moment. I still kissed her." Izuku spent the whole night admitting it to himself. His conflicting emotions. "I ignored the situation because I was scared. I messed up Iida, not you."

Iida had wide eyes at his confession. It did relieve the guilt he was carrying, but it brought a new feeling of sympathy towards his close friend. "Midoriya, I," He didn't know what to say. His friend had clearly suffered throughout the weekend fighting with himself. To come to this conclusion must be difficult and even harder to admit.

"Huh? S-Sorry Iida, I think I just needed someone to listen to me." Izuku rubbed his eyes. He knew his words were honest, but that's what hurt him. 'I wasn't a hundred percent into the relationship as I thought I was.'

Iida rigorously shook his head. "Midoriya if the least I could do was listen then I am grateful to have helped!" He patted Midoriya's back. "Besides, it's hard to stop you when you ramble."

"Huh? Iida is that a joke?" He slowly cracked a grin.

Iida smiled as a reply. "So what will you do now?"

Izuku had his hand to his chin beginning to think out loud of every possible outcome.

Iida sweatdropped. "That's the rambling I'm used to..."

"I guess the best thing to do is get to know Kyouka better. Not only about her interest, but also her personality and emotions, I lacked that information when we started our relationship, but in return, I also want her to know me, just as intimately. I can't smash through this situation with my fists."

Iida was about to nod, but Izuku kept rambling.

"I also have to make things clear for Uraraka. She must be confused as well. I can't just leave her hanging. It would be best if we could still be friends. Let's see, is there anyone else I'm forgetting? That's right, Kaminari. If he also has feelings for Kyouka and uses this situation to his advantage then it's a lose-lose, but if I talk to him maybe..." He nodded to himself. "I've cleared all the conditions to move forward. I didn't leave anyone out."

Except he did...

* * *

 _~Y_ _esterday~_

 _Jirou opened the door. "Hey, Momo. I'm glad you came." But her voice didn't carry her upbeat rhythm. It was a melancholic melody._

 _Momo smiled. "Of course I would! After hearing about yours and Midoriya's sudden mishap, I assumed you would need a friend, and I'm guessing Kaminari wouldn't be your first choice." She stepped inside after Jirou waved her in._

 _She sighed at Momo's reasoning. "I'm such a mess, aren't I? First Kaminari and now Izuku." Jirou was in wrinkled PJs. Momo pretended not to notice her baggy, puffy, bloodshot eyes._

 _"N-No, of course not." She glanced around. "Are you parents not home? I brought some of that special order tea, your mother mentioned last time."_

 _"Hm, I guess not. You know how it is with their busy schedule." She began walking up the stairs. "Come on, we can chill in my room."_

 _"Y-Yes, I'd very much like that..."_


	12. Chapter 12

12

Hold me

 _"H-Hey, um, Uraraka?" Izuku was squirming._

 _"Hm, what is it deku?" She had that sunshine smile._

 _"I was, I was, I was," He kept rambling the same two words. His face was growing redder every time he repeated the phrase. He couldn't finish his sentence._

 _"Are you okay?" She tilted her head._

 _"I was, I was," Stuck on repeat._

 _"Are you mimicking a broken record player? That's pretty good Deku! But my parents are going to pick me up today! They want to go to a special dinner for all the hard work at my internship! I kept trying to deny, but my parents don't want me worrying about money." She waved, leaving the school grounds. "Bye Deku! Tell Iida sorry." She ran off._

 _Tooru snickered walking away as well. " **Midoriya's hopeless**."_

 _Izuku snapped out of his playback when a hand landed on his shoulder. "Huh?" He glanced back. "Yaoyorozu?"_

 _She sighed. It was sad to see him fail at his attempt to ask Uraraka out. "She left Midoriya."_

 _Izuku's eyes bulged out. "Uraraka?! When did she?"_

 _Momo sighed again. " **You really are hopeless.** " She crossed her arms under her bust. "What was your plan anyway?"_

 _Izuku scratched his dark green hair. "N-Nothing really. Just wanted to see if she wanted to hang out?"_

 _Yaoyorozu smiled. "Was it really that difficult to ask? Where would you have gone anyways?"_

 _Izuku planked like a board. "I didn't think that far ahead..." With cringe-worthy eyes._

 _She giggled, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "Well, when you gain the courage to ask, how about suggesting the arcade? Having fun is what we all crave, ne?"_

 _Izuku grew back to his delightful positivity. "You're definitely right about that! Thanks, Yaoyorozu! Hey, maybe we should go have some fun at the arcade? It was your idea, after all!" He laughed, joking around._

 _Yaoyorozu stifled a blush, tensing up at his offer. "E-Eh? Um-"_

 _"Oh, there's Iida! Well see you later Yaoyorozu, and thanks for the advice! I'll definitely use it."_

 _Momo adjusted her pose, waving back, forcing a polite smile. "Y-You're welcome." She dropped her hand to her bosom. "He didn't mean anything by that..."_

 _"Hey, Momo ready to go? Sorry for the wait but Kaminari accidentally overcharged." Jirou was laughing her ass off. He was walking behind them with his thumbs up._

 _"Hm, oh yes. Let's be on our way."_

* * *

Momo flicked her ponytail to the side. She was sitting beside Jirou as they watched time-consuming videos on her computer.

"Um, is this how you've been distracting yourself." Momo, the always concerned lady, was worried about her closest friend.

Jirou sighed. "Got nothing better to do." She didn't want to talk about this. She already knew where Momo was going with this.

"Why don't you play your guitar? I've never heard you play. I bet it sounds lovely." Momo clapped her hands together to the joyful idea.

Jirou glanced to the edge of her bed, where her acoustic guitar hung slanted, unstrummed. She glared at it, before facing back to the computer. "Don't feel like it." Playing it would only remind her of Izuku.

Momo got up from her chair. She picked up the guitar and held it in her hands, plopping on the bed. "Oh come on? Could you show me how to play? Or we could play together! I know how to play the piano!"

Jirou spun on her chair. "Momo, can't you just drop it?" She had an annoyed frown, not able to meet her eyes.

"But I'm just trying to... um." Momo glanced down. She clutched the guitar tighter.

"I don't need you to console me, I'm a big girl." Jirou had her knuckles supporting her head.

Momo nodded. "I'm sorry..."

Jirou sighed, facepalming. She stood from her chair and sat beside her. "H-Hey I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to hang out with you today. You being around is consolation enough." Jirou began to rub her back.

Momo shook her head. "It's not that!" She accidentally dropped the guitar, burying her face in her hands. "I'm sorry." She apologized for the guitar. It strummed out of tune with a fumble.

"Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal." Jirou grew anxious for some reason. "Hey, aren't you blowing this out proportion?" She scooted closer to her, her hand kept rubbing her back.

Momo's sobs stayed quietly consistent. "I just didn't know what to do!"

"Huh?" Jirou was about to ask what she meant, but.

Momo tackled Jirou down to the bed. She straddled her, restraining her wrists besides her pillow.

"Momo! What are you-" Jirou gasped. Her amethyst eyes grew, as a droplet fell down. "Momo?"

"...Can't you just forgive Midoriya?"

* * *

 _Momo walked to Aizawa. "Sensei, may I go to recovery girl. I think I pulled a muscle during our exercises." She rubbed her shoulder. They were all outside in their tracksuits._

 _He gave her permission. She wasn't the type to flake out, even for these activities._

 _She walked down the hall. She was recalling that morning. Jirou had confessed about the relationship between her and Midoriya. She still didn't know to feel. On the one hand, it was Jirou. On the other it was Midoriya._

 _"Your ligaments are healing, but if I have to keep warning you, you'll be sorry! You must not exert yourself anymore! Do you really want to lose function of your arms?"_

 _Momo stopped before the door. She knew eavesdropping was wrong and wouldn't have done so until she heard a voice reply._

 _"S-Sorry! But don't worry, I don't plan on wasting away my arms anymore!"_

 _'Midoriya?' Momo scrunched her eyes in concern._

 _"And why should I believe you? You've done nothing but betray my trust."_

 _Momo heard a loud thwack. She even winced._

 _"Ow, ow! But because, um, I have someone I want to keep holding in my arms."_

 _Momo heard the smile in his voice. She knew he was referring to Jirou._

 _"Oh, do you now? Jeez, you hormone driven kids. Now get out of here, All-Might wanted a word with you."_

 _"Y-Yes!"_

 _Izuku ran out of the medical office and darted down the hallway. He was running in the opposite direction of Momo, towards the staff room._

 _Momo slid down the wall. "Midoriya could lose function in his arms..." She cupped her hand over her lips. Why did this upset her so much?_

 _Midoriya skidded to a stop. "Hm?" He heard a faint thud. He turned back around. He jogged back. "Yaoyorozu? Are you okay?" He bent down, reaching out his hand._

 _Momo stared at it for the longest. Those arms. She stared at the few the scars in his right hand. Her eyes followed them up to his cheerful freckled face. "M-Midoriya... your arms are fine, right?"_

 _Izuku flinched with wide eyes. He gulped. 'She heard our conversation...' He forced a smile. 'It's fine, Jirou trusts her, I should be able to as well, right?' Izuku extended his arm further. "Yeah!"_

 _Momo gasped. His smile was radiating, telling her everything would be okay. She took his hand. His grin grew. He pulled her up, and they began to walk down the hallway._

 _"Excuse me, I-I don't know what came over me." She wiped her final tears away. "I guess I was just overwhelmed."_

 _Izuku scratched his cheek. "It's fine, you're the only other person besides the doctors and my mom to find out."_

 _"Izuku... Is your quirk really that dangerous?"_

 _Izuku's eyes were hard in thought. He gripped his fist. "Yeah, if I lose control of my power output one more time, then..." He didn't finish, because they both knew his implications._

 _"Oh..."_

 _"H-Hey but don't worry!" He waved his arms around in front of her._

 _Momo muffled a sniffle with her hand. She nodded. "Midoriya?"_

 _"Yeah? What is it Yaoyorozu?"_

 _"Did you mean it? Going to the arcade together?" She knew it was taboo to ask but had to._

 _He grinned. She wasn't crying anymore. "Sure, I don't see why not."_

 _Momo held in her gasp._

 _His voice dropped to a concerned pitch. "Um, Yaoyorozu, can I ask for a favor?"_

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Um, please don't tell Kyouka about my arms. I don't want her to worry."_

* * *

Momo's eyes were stinging a salty liquid.

"Momo, what's gotten into you?" Jirou didn't fight her restraints, she was more concerned than anything.

"It wasn't Midoriya's fault..."

Jirou flinched at the honest crack in Momo's voice. "What are you talking about?"

Momo dropped her head. "He would never try to hurt you... Even now, I bet he's beating himself up, willing to take all the blame."

Jirou gulped, staring up at Momo. Apart of her knew that was exactly what Izuku was doing. "But he kissed-"

"But I, along with Kirishima, Iida, and Kaminari, planned everything! We pushed the two into that moment. I never intended any of this... I'm sorry, but please stop blaming Midoriya, before you push him away completely."

Jirou didn't know how to respond. Her throat was dry and her eyes were getting watery. "I don't even know what to say to him..."

Momo sighed with sagging shoulders, she released her grip on her wrist and laid on top of her. "Just hold onto him." She whispered lovingly.

'Like I want you to hold me...'

But who was she talking about...


	13. Chapter 13

13

Crosswalks

Midoriya and Iida reached the gates of school. He was walking along the path until someone put him in a headlock.

"What'd you do to kill Jirou's vibe, huh, Midoriya!" Mina, the culprit.

"Eh, ow! Ashido?" Izuku was trying to pull himself away.

Froppy and Tooru were behind Mina.

"Midoriya, is there something you want to tell us?" Tsuyu had her fingertip to her lips. "Jirou didn't look like her normal self earlier."

Mina softened her grip and made him face the other two girls. Iida was ordering them to act civil but it was unheard in the background.

Izuku drew a frown. "It's personal. I can't just talk about it."

The three girls glanced around at each other. Mina released her arms. "Whatever happened, fix it, Mr. Lovebook." She pointed her index finger.

"L-Lovebook?!" 'Is she referring to my notebook?!'

Mina crossed her arms. "Man and it was going so good between you guys."

Midoriya ruffled his hair. "Um, why are you guys getting involved anyways." 'Kyouka doesn't want her business put out there.'

"How naive, Midoriya!" Tooru corrected striking a pose. Mina nodded along with her.

"We have to help."

"For we are,"

"Your fans!"

"Ribbit."

Izuku's head dropped sideways. "Ara?" Defeated. 'Are they serious.'

"We totally want to see you guys together! We're rooting for you!"

"Then why'd you attack me?"

That was a confusing morning for Izuku.

* * *

Izuku was resting his chin on the palm of his hand. His elbow was at the edge of the desk. It slipped off and he almost banged his head on it.

Kyouka was chewing her inner cheek, holding a tuned out stare at the board behind Sensei.

One peeked at the other, through their lying nonchalant body language. The other tensed from the peripheral vision. Both recovered just as quickly.

Izuku turned his head to the clear sky, shining through the window. 'I don't really like sunny days like this that much anymore.'

Rainy days had a better lyrical quality.

Kyouka was staring at her desk. Her mind kept repeating the morning she shared. She woke up with Momo sleeping right next to her, faces inches apart. 'We didn't do anything..?' At that moment, it felt like they were going to. They shared a warm, misty, stare, waking up, snuggled.

Izuku perked up at the feeling of eyes staring at the back of his neck. He matched the gaze. Uraraka quickly hid her head, pretending to be focused on her book.

He glanced back forward with straight lips. 'I can't leave her hanging, either.'

* * *

Lunch. Izuku waked into the cafeteria hall, with his tray of food. He glanced around the tables.

Momo was sitting with Kyouka. Momo glanced up and their eyes met. She gave a sympathetic smile, he returned it with a weak one.

Momo went back to her conversation with Jirou, but with more detailed expressions, because a certain dark green haired teen was watching.

Izuku shifted his eyes. Uraraka and Iida were sitting together. It couldn't be helped. Iida was also her friend.

Kacchan, Kaminari, and Kirishima were munching on some food.

He didn't quite know where to sit.

"Midoriya." Todoroki stood beside him. His cool warm eyes were also deciding where to sit. "How about there." He shrugged, casually inviting him.

"T-Todoroki? S-Sure." Deku followed him. He sat next to him and smiled at the two sitting at the table. "Tokoyami, Shouji."

"Midoriya, Todoroki." They all greeted each other. Tokoyami was pecking at his food with chopsticks. Shouji's trey was wiped clean.

"Midoriya is everything okay?" Shouji asked through one of his extra limbs.

"Huh?" Izuku's thoughtful stare fell and he turned to the question. "It's nothing really."

"Jirou." Tokoyami simply added.

"Hm." Todoroki nodded his head.

"I-Is it really that obvious?"

They all gave him a yes in their own ways. Todoroki put his hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Eh?" Shouji shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head. "Hey, Shouji?" Tokoyami stayed quiet nibbling at his food. "Please say something, Tokoyami..."

"Deku didn't sit here." Uraraka sighed at the current situation in the cafeteria.

Iida adjusted his glasses. "Don't worry! Midoriya just has a few things to sort out."

"If you say so?" She felt so guilty for the rift. She had to apologize, but it was difficult. Apologizing for how you feel.

Momo and Jirou didn't say much. They were both in hard thought sitting next to each other sharing music with headphones.

Kaminari was talking to Kirishima, while Bakugo focused on his food. He said something about having another shot with Jirou. Kirishima chuckled but said good luck.

Midoriya sighed in defeat. None of them gave him a straight answer.

Lunch was over. He stood up from the table.

"Midoriya." Todoroki, Tokoyami, and Shouji all gave him a familiar look. "We're rooting for you."

Izuku almost fell to the side. 'Todoroki said it with such a straight face...' "What? Like with Ashido and those two."

"The most intimate moments are whispered in the shadows."

"T-Tokoyami, you too..." Deku was done after another ridiculous reply.

* * *

The school day was over. She was packing up. Kyouka adjusted her schoolbag.

She stepped out the door. She kept her earphone jacked to her phone. She walked along with a lot of the other kids filing out. She left the school grounds, she didn't bother to glance at the scenery. It was always the same.

She turned on the sidewalk next to the busy streets.

She did bother to raise her head when she was standing on the bridge. She glanced at the cars traveling below her.

"Kyouka!"

She flinched and played it off with a shrug. She waited for him to catch up. Her eyes were cool and half-lidded.

He panted, his hands on his knees. He rose and had a huffing smile.

"Yo, Midoriya." She rubbed her elbow, still staring at the passing by cars. "What's up?"

"H-" He gasped. 'Huh? Midoriya?' His lips daunted low a little. He straightened his back. He shared her stare of the flowing traffic. Both of their eyes faced away from the other. "I... do you want me to keep calling you Kyouka?"

She absently gave a motion of her head. He didn't know if it was yes, or no. "It's whatever."

"Oh... H-Hey wanna walk home together?"

"I was actually going to meet up with Kaminari and Momo ."

Izuku's eyes widened, then narrowed. His head slightly turned to her. "You guys still hang out."

Her disposition never changed. "Yeah. I mean, we're still friends."

He completely faced her. "That makes sense." He gazed at the ground. "So, maybe next time?" He offered.

"I, I don't know dude... Maybe?" It sounded more like she was asking herself.

Izuku's lips grew along with some hope. "H-Hey can I walk you to the crosswalk."

She stifled a pitch. "S-Sure." With hidden pouted lips.

It was a short walk, only to the edge of the bride. It was quiet and uncomfortable. They reached a red light and waited. It felt like the light was never going to change. They were both awkwardly looking around, except at each other. The light turned green. Jirou stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do.

"Th-This was nice." Izuku was ruffling his hair, looking down.

"Y-Yeah." She agreed, realizing she should start walking across the street. She left with a hidden smile she was trying to force down.

Izuku stared as she crossed safely. He held a gentle smile. He walked down the sidewalk, holding his backpack straps with some gained confidence.


	14. Chapter 14

14

Gravity

Izuku opened the door to his room with a positive swing. "I'm home, mom!" He had a natural joy. It didn't seem completely **hopeless** with Kyouka anymore.

"I-Izuku!" His mother scurried from the kitchen to him, in the hallway. Her eyes were more cringy than Izuku's. "Y-You have a visitor!"

"Eh?" Izuku waited for his mom to relax. "Do you know who it is?"

She shook her head. "She said she was a friend!" His mom couldn't believe it.

"A female friend?" He walked to the kitchen and living room. "Uraraka." He didn't know how to feel seeing her sitting on the couch. He fingers were tapping the lap of her skirt, nervously.

"H-Hey Deku!" She abruptly stood, making eye contact with him. She pressed the pads of her fingertip together, anxiously. "I just came by to, um, you know." Staring at the floor.

Izuku almost skidded back on one shoe. His eyelids fell. "Y-Yeah, for school right? We can work on it in my room." He mumbled a little unsure and dejected. Why was Uraraka here of all times? 'I still have things to work out...'

She nodded, following him. He opened his door, then completely shut it with wide eyes. He attempted to cover it with his arms. 'I forgot about all the All-Might stuff!'

"Hm, Deku, what's wrong?"

"Eh, n-nothing, it's just..." He sighed in defeat, opening the door.

"Deku, you really are a fanboy!" She awed, stepping inside.

He simply nodded with flat eyes. He motioned with his hand for her to sit. She nodded, sitting on the bed. He accompanied her, taking a seat next to her.

"So about what happened at the mall." She started, locks of her hair were dangling in front of her face.

He gulped. "Yeah. I, maybe, if we were more open about it, things would be different."

Her eyes shifted from the carpet to his lap. "Different?"

"Eh? Um, I mean, you know, we wouldn't have..." His lips held a crooked frown. "Done that."

"I don't think that would change things."

"Huh?"

"I... I still like you Deku!" Her face snapped to him. He flinched at her composure. She was determined.

His throat audibly gulped. "Uraraka? But Kyouka is still important to me."

"I know that." She leaned closer to him, gripping her fists over her skirt. "But don't you like me? Even a little?" Her last note pitched unevenly.

Izuku backed up. "It's not that. I did, I do, but I'm with Kyouka-..." He flashed back to the walk home in the rain. His eyes dampened. "I mean, we're not right now, but..."

Uraraka placed her hand on his lap, scooting closer. "If you do like me, then we can still try, r-right Deku?" Her fingers gripped the fabric of his pants.

"Uraraka." Izuku had his eyes shut. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "I want to try and salvage what I have with Kyouka..." He whispered, his head was shifted away from her, not able to meet her eyes.

Uraraka's grip on his pants gave way. "So you're asking me to wait as a replacement?" Her thumb and index finger were the only pieces of her holding onto him. "If things don't work out, you'll just look for me, right?"

Izuku grew orbs. "No. It's not like-"

"It is!" She barked with a strained droplet. Her voice died down. "When I kissed you, I felt something... like you were okay with settling... Is that all I really am to you?"

Izuku's eyes winced from a blurry sting. His throat had a clog he couldn't swallow down. "No... of course not, Uraraka." His arms went around her shoulders, hugging her. "I do have feelings for you... I'm just scared." 'What if I do belong with Uraraka, but Kyouka is also...! I don't want to mess up things even more.'

Uraraka gasped against his shirt. Her eyes grew, stopping the drops damping his clothes. "Deku..."

He shut his eyes, squeezing her closer. "Sorry!"

"Deku."

His eyes opened, staring down at her. She was facing up at him, her cheeks were a pink shade and her eyes had a liquid shine. Her arms freed from his grip that grew tender. She pushed down on his shoulder, leaning him back on the wall.

" _Deku-kun_." Whispering a moan.

Izuku sucked in his breath. Her body was warm and drawing closer to his. Her shoulders rose as she tilted her head, her bangs swayed, shadowing her eyes.

Izuku cupped her cheek, stopping her. She perked open her eyes. His eyes were downcast. "Why?" She asked, confused. Deku was Deku.

Izuku took a deep breath. He raised his head. He glanced at the window. Sunny. He shut his eyes turning to her. He forced a brave smile because he was scared.

"U-Uraraka, let's just be friends."

Her orbs lost their gravity. She backed up slowly, climbing off him, and the bed. "S-Sorry, Deku! I-I shouldn't have come unannounced anyways." She scampered around the room getting her stuff.

"Uraraka, wait." He stepped off the bed.

"It's okay. I should get going before mom and dad get worried." She finished gathering everything, holding her bag. He paused in front of her. She hesitated.

Izuku and Uraraka stood in the middle of the room.

Maybe, they were waiting for the next moment to start, or maybe, they didn't want this one to end.

His phone vibrated. That brought them out of a shared reconsideration of their actions.

"Y-You should get that." Uraraka mumbled, walking around Izuku, opening the door and walking away.

Izuku rubbed his eyes before anyone saw, turning around. He walked her to the front door. "We'll still hang out, right?"

It went unnoticed, but her face stiffened with hurt. She huffed her chest before turning around to face him. "Of course, Deku! See you tomorrow!"

He smiled back.

Hers faltered. She turned to the door before he noticed. "See ya!" Opening it and leaving.

"H-Huh, yeah! See you-," The door clicked shut, "later..."

He scrunched his eyebrows. That was too forced from her. He mentally sighed. Could this be considered a breakup, from a relationship that wasn't even there? It sure felt like one. Lost in the moment while it happens, then the whiplash hits you after everything is said and done.

He trudged to his room. He walked to his computer desk, grabbing his phone. He checked his msgs. "It's from Yaoyorozu?" He scanned the text.

 **Hey Midoriya! Wanna go to the arcade tomorrow?**

He subconsciously grew a smile, recalling. 'Yaoyorozu feels like the only one on my side, sometimes.' Iida was there, but he was also with Uraraka and that made him neutral. Yaoyorozu was Kyouka's friend but was doing her best to smooth things over.

 **Sure! Sounds fun! Who else is going?**

Momo peeped out. She didn't imagine him to ask that. She rolled over on her bed. She stared at his reply. Should she just invite everyone? What about Jirou? She squirmed but typed.

 **Us two? No one else can make it.**

Momo kept staring at her phone's home screen. Waiting to hear that chime of her text tone. She buried her face in her pillow. "What was I thinking?" She muffled out, giving up.

Chime.

She gasped. She swiped open her phone. He replied.

 **A promise is a promise lol! Can't wait!**

Izuku sighed, dropping on the bed, his phone bounced on the springs, before landing beside him. "I was hoping she would mention Kyouka..." He closed his eyes, tired. He opened them, staring at the wall Uraraka had him pinned against earlier. "But I guess it will be fun with Yaoyorozu..." He closed them again, going to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

15

Selfish

Momo twiddled the umbrella. Was this a good idea? "Of course it's not. I'm basically betraying Jirou..." Then she debated that it wouldn't be a betrayed as long as they only did things friends would do. She squirmed. "This will be the first time Midoriya and I hang out, alone."

"I guess so, huh?" Izuku agreed.

She flinched in fear, turning around. The umbrella smacked his face.

"Ack!" He grunted.

"M-Midoriya?! Oh gosh, I'm so sorry!" She took a step forward. 'Should I hug him? Or just a casual handshake?' She didn't decide, but it didn't matter. She slipped on a puddle, falling.

"C-Careful!" Izuku caught her.

As cliché as the troupe I used to break up Jirou and Midoriya, Momo and Izuku were sharing a love stuck embrace in the rain. For an innocent rich girl like Momo, it was so romantic. The umbrella was on the sidewalk, Izuku was protectively holding her with a rough grip. The rain dropped on her forehead as she stared up at him and she imagined a rosy frame surrounding them.

'Is this how he held Jirou?'

"Are you alright?" He interrupted her daydream.

"Huh? Oh, yes. Thank you, e-excuse me." Straightening herself. She was now slightly taller than Midoriya. He picked up the upside-down umbrella and tossed aside the collected rainwater.

He smiled at her. The same smile that told her everything was going to be fine. The smile that nursed her conflicting feelings. "We should start walking." He lifted the umbrella over her.

Momo agreed, flustered, but agreed.

Izuku glanced up at the dropping rain, right before the entrance of the arcade he stared at the spot where Kyouka took a picture with him. 'I can't delete it from my mind.' He was pretty sure Kyouka deleted it from her phone. He shook his head. "H-Hey, um, Yaoyorozu?"

"Yes?" She turned her head to them before they entered.

"Nevermind." He was going to say if they could go somewhere else, but she looked excited. 'And she did give me the idea, I bet she's always wanted to come with someone.'

"Let's have some fun!" She giggled at him. "I bet you could use a pick me up, after this weekend." Her eyes turned slightly cloudy. "Sorry... I didn't mean to. My words just slipped."

Izuku's grin faltered for a moment before he picked it back up. "Hey, don't beat yourself up over my problems. I don't want to be a drag, it's like you said, everyone just craves fun!"

Momo's nail buried into her palm, as she squeezed her fist shut. "Y-Yes." But what kind of fun was she hoping for?

They did do their best to have fun. Izuku's face would come down at times though, thinking of his date with Jirou. Momo had caught his expression ever so often, but pretend she didn't, only forcing her smile bigger.

"Midoriya, what do you say we go watch a movie?"

"Huh, but I thought you wanted-"

"You're obviously not having a good time." She crossed her arms under her bust, waiting for his reason. She was growing annoyed and concerned.

Izuku's forced grin fell completely. He ruffled his hair with a sigh. "Sorry, Yaoyorozu. It's just, this is where I took Kyouka for our first date."

Momo's arms dropped to her sides. She never knew. "Oh... Jirou never told me... how insensitive of me, and here I was getting upset." She glanced away, rubbing her elbow. 'Midoriya brought her here? How cruel of me to ask him here... and yet he still showed up. Jirou was right, no matter how minuscule it seems to others, for Midoriya, an inch is a mile.' She felt a twist in her chest. 'And I'm only making things worse.'

"You have a right to be upset! I should be more focused on you. It was your idea after all. I owe it to you, to have a good time, with you! I'll try harder."

Momo gasped. She calmed herself and shook her head. "Then let's go somewhere else. I want us both to have fun! You deserve that much."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Sometimes, others want to take that extra step for you." She smiled, holding her hands behind her back, pushing her chest out as she swayed side to side.

"Yaoyorozu..." A heartbeat skipped. His eyes grew at the action. He confronted the lingering thought. 'She's Kyouka's friend. She's the only one helping me with her. I don't like her that way... and neither does she. There's nothing to worry about.

Right?'

* * *

They went in the elevator. The second story was a theater and they decided to go watch a movie.

It was quiet as they were the only two inside. Momo's hand brushed Izuku's. He moved his after it happened repeatedly. "Sorry, am I too close?" He scooted away a little and stopped the whisper contact between their knuckles.

Momo held back a sigh of disappointment. 'If anything I wanted you closer...'

They walked out as the doors slid open. "Hm, what kind of movie you want to watch?"

"I heard of a great documentary about the Manhattan Project, it goes into details of their theories and-"

Izuku chuckled nervously. "That sounds great, but I think it's better for humanity if you didn't know how to make a bomb of that scale."

Momo almost hiccuped from his statement. "Wh-What? I would never bring such devastation-" She stopped seeing his earnest smile. "Oh, what a mean joke Midoriya!" She slapped his shoulder and marched ahead of him. She heard his teasing laugh and a smile crept up, without him seeing.

Izuku caught up with a weak apology. "Sorry, but you're always so stiff, I just wanted to lighten the mood."

Momo had her hand over her chest, playing with the cloth of her shirt. "It's supposed to be the other way around. I wanted to cheer you up after everything."

Izuku's smile never failed to reassure her that everything was fine. "And you have been doing that for Kyouka too, huh?" Izuku could already confirm, as he saw her tense up adorably. "Thanks, Yaoyorozu, knowing that cheers me up a lot!"

Momo's eyes couldn't meet that bright smile. She tried not to squirm, squeezing her thighs together. "I-It's no big deal. You're both my friends, I just want what's best." But what she said was contradicting what she was doing.

"Sometimes, you just need to loosen up. So feel free to rely on me. I know I have been on you."

"Midoriya, you're so..." She didn't finish, her eyes were getting watery and if she did complete her sentence, then it would spill. "So what do you want to watch?"

"We can watch that documentary you were talking about." He suggested.

"No, I can just watch that later in my home theater, I'll buy the film reel later."

"H-Home theater?" 'She just casually slapped me with her richness... and all I feel is the urge to protect her.'

"Oh, I know!" Her eyes sparked up. "I heard of a psychological horror involving a kid who always wanted to be a hero, but he grew up to be a villain because of his circumstances and mental instabilities! I love the romanticism! I believe it's called Unsung-"

"We're not allowed to break the fourth wall Yaoyorozu!" Izuku clamped her mouth shut stopping her. She instantly perked up realizing her mistake, she nodded in apology. Izuku released her mouth.

"Sorry readers, please ignore my earlier remark."

Izuku cringed. 'She still went and did it...' He ignored the meta. "Yaoyorozu, let's just go watch that."

She beamed. "Oh, I can't wait for it to start!"

* * *

"Is it over!" Momo hid her eyes with her hands, curled up on the seat, cradling back and forth, she peaked in between her fingers. That was a huge mistake. She squealed.

Izuku also had a pained expression. "N-No. Oh God, he's ripping out his eye!"

"Midoriya, I'm scared!"

"Me too!"

They were holding each other for comfort, trying to ignore the screams of anguish.

The theater noise was drowned out in her ears. 'M-Midoriya is...' She quickly shoved him off. "S-Sorry, I didn't- ewww!" She scampered back into his arms. Midoriya happily accepted her company. She ignored the butterflies whirling inside of her.

* * *

"It's over." They both sighed, leaving. "It's finally over."

"It was a good movie, just edgy, ne?" Momo tried to make conversation. "M-Midoriya?!" She almost jumped back from his gloomy expression.

He was covering his eye with a hand, cherishing it. "I like seeing with both eyes."

Momo tried not to cringe, remembering the gross vivid scene and cries. She winced seeing the fear in Midoriya. "It's okay. It's over right? It was just a movie."

Izuku nodded. He snapped out of his nightmare induced daydream. "Y-Yeah. I guess I was just overwhelmed." He checked his phone. It was getting late. "Hey let me walk you home."

"We could just have my driver drop you off. It would be my pleasure."

Izuku grinned. "Thanks, but I would be more comfortable taking a simple stroll. What's the rush?"

"Um, s-sure." Unsure.

They left the building. Izuku stared up at the dark grey sky. "The rain has died down." He didn't bother to open up the umbrella.

Momo's driver pulled up. She waved him off. "We're going to walk. Thank you."

Izuku was still uncomfortable by her natural rich girl personality. That was also a reason he didn't accept her offer, he felt out of place.

While they were walking, Momo had her eyes on an ice cream cone a vendor was selling. Izuku noticed and offered to buy her one. She bashfully denied, saying she could pay for it if she wanted, she just didn't want to for reasons. Shy reasons involving the person next to her.

"Come on, we can eat it on the way." Izuku asked for two cones. Momo kept trying to reject his offer, but when the treat was in her hand, she was already licking the treat and got a brain freeze.

She clutched her head in pain. "Thank you for the ice-cream, even though I insisted-"

"You like it?" He interrupted her mannerisms.

She gave in up and nodded. "Midoriya you paid for everything today. You should of let me at least pay for this."

Izuku took a thoughtful lick as they walked. Her eyes focused on his tongue longer than she should of. "Did I? I guess I didn't notice. Friends share what we can right? It's not a big deal, Yaoyorozu."

"Oh..." That's right, friends.

They reached the front gates of her mansion. It opened up and they walked up the path to her home.

"Yaoyorozu, I just wanted to say thanks again, for everything you've been doing for me and Kyouka... and I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise." That had weighed on Izuku's mind for a while.

Momo closed her eyes and slowly opened them. "It wasn't your fault..." The guilt had also weighed on her mind for a while. "In my eyes, you're still doing what you can to keep that promise right?" She faced Midoriya with a gentle smile.

Izuku's eyes shined with emerald. "Y-Yeah. You're really amazing. I don't know why Todoroki hasn't said anything, yet. Maybe I should help you like you're helping me."

Momo stopped walking with confused eyes of denial. "Todoroki...?"

Izuku stopped turning around. "Hm, yeah. You like him don't you?" At least that was what Kyouka told him.

"First, Jirou and now you..." Why the both of them. Why did the both of them completely ignore her feelings? Why?

"Um, Yaoyorozu?"

"The two people I, ugh, nevermind! I knew this date was a horrible idea." She threw her arms up and started to stomp away. "Thanks for walking me home."

Izuku was stunned for a moment. "Date?" He spun on his shoes, catching up to her. "Wait Yaoyorozu!" He clutched her wrist before she reached the door. "Was this a date?"

Momo gasped. 'I must of let it slip.'

Izuku released his grip, intently staring as she turned to face him. "No... Well yes, but only because I was curious."

"Curious?"

"I wanted to feel how Jirou felt."

"How Kyouka felt? Why?"

"I don't understand myself, I just wanted to have a day to be selfish... was that wrong? Are you mad?"

Izuku gulped with a harsh realization. 'Selfish... actually when has Yaoyorozu been selfish...' Izuku stared at her face. She was looking away but waiting for an answer.

"I'm not upset, Yaoyorozu. I don't have any reason to be. Actually, I'm sorry. I should have paid more attention to how you-"

She placed a finger to his lips. "Stop. You have more important things. I just wanted today for us. So can I ask for one more thing?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

She bit her lip before forcing herself to ask. "Can you kiss me good night, like how you would to Jirou." She shamed her eyes shut. That was asking to cross a line.

"No, I can't because you're not Kyouka." Izuku rose on his tiptoes. "You're Yaoyorozu." Pressing his lips to her forehead, combing her hair back. "Goodnight, today was fun."

Momo had quivering eyes. "Goodnight I-Izuku..." She waited for his reply.

He didn't. All he had was that smile. That smile telling her that everything was fine.

Momo stayed outside, watching him leave. "Text me when you get home, so I know you're safe!" She called out before he was out of reach.

Momo walked inside her home with an infatuated sigh. She touched the spot he placed his warm lips on. 'He kissed Jirou with those lips.' And that made her want him more.

'What's wrong with me... Kyouka is my best friend... and I'm the worst.'


	16. Chapter 16

16

A lyric to the story

Izuku stared up at the ceiling. "...All-Might."

The training camp, Kacchan's capture, the fight between All-Might and One-for-All, all of it was over and the students had moved into the dorms of U.A. That was the first time he saw Kyouka since the hospital.

He recalled the day he saw her in the hospital bed. "I just stood there. I couldn't do anything to help her." He couldn't and was pointlessly beating himself up, because she was within his reach that day, and he was purely focused on Kacchan. Kyouka was affected by the gas and had been unconscious ever since.

He never forgot the empty pit in his chest seeing her hooked up to machines. All he was able to do was leave a note and gift next to her bedside as she recovered.

Earlier today, as they all arrived at the building they would be staying in, he glanced her way, she noticed and met his eyes. He gave a weak, but determined gesture of his head. She gave him one back, but it wasn't happy or sad, only confused acknowledgment of how she felt.

He couldn't sleep. Everyone had unpacked and held a competition for the best room. He laid on his bed, simply staring up. "We're all living together, now..." His lips shifted uncomfortably with gritted teeth. "And I haven't shared a single conversation with Kyouka since the hospital." He told himself he wanted to get to know Kyouka better, but he had been faltering.

All-Might's retirement hit him hard.

* * *

"C'mon, just go talk to him?" Mina was in the living quarters with Jirou. She felt a little close to the relationship between Izuku and Kyouka. "If it wasn't for me pestering you about snooping in his notebook, you two would have never gone out in the first place. You owe me!" She wanted to cash in.

"Yeah, I owe you all the stupid teen drama that came with it."

"Hahaha, I would love for some love affair to come my way though. If you insist, I'll take Midoriya all for myself." Mina teased.

"Hey, leave him alone."

"See, I knew you still cared!" With a victorious smirk.

Jirou crossed her arms, leaning back on the couch. "Tch, It's not that. I just know he's had it rough since All-Might retired. He's our favorite..."

Mina blinked confused, then blinked understanding. "That's the perfect reason to go talk to him! Cheer him up!" She winked with a lewd idea. "Sing him a lullaby, then take him to bed."

"Oh my god, what's wrong with you?"

Mina giggled leaving to her room for the night. "I'm just saying, Midoriya is vulnerable and needs someone. You miss him. The night is still young, just go for it and stop being such a scaredy-cat."

"I'm not a scaredy-cat." Jirou pouted with a pink tint on her cheeks. She was upset that Mina hit the mark.

Her eyes furrowed in thought. Her earphones adorably coiled up and came undone at her thoughts.

 _"Huh..." She didn't remember much. The last thing was the training camp and the poison gas. "What? Why am I here?" A hospital bed. She rose up and glanced around. Most of the class had brought her small gift baskets_ _, roses, or something of the sort. She focused on the All-Might doll and note taped to it. "He left something too?"_

 _She understood that she had worried everyone, but for him to still reach out. Her eyes wondered, unsure, before she squeezed the doll, and unshed any tears._

 _"I am here!" Awkward laugh. "I hope you feel better!" A prerecorded message from him._

 _Her eyes widened with a shine and tender gasp._

 _"Izuku..."_ _She grabbed the note and read it. 'I know my voice isn't as good as All-Might's, but I just wanted you to hear it even if I'm not there. As always, your Deku.' It read. "You dummy." She held it tighter to her chest, burying her nose on it inhaling his lingering scent._

Jirou clicked her tongue in conflicting annoyance. She wanted to do something, but she didn't know what. "Fuck it, and fuck this, I'm going to bed."

* * *

IIzuku groaned, sitting up on his bed. "Maybe a glass of milk will help." He opened the door and left his dorm.

He was in the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge. He poured himself a glass. He let out a breath of refreshment after finishing the glass.

Sneak, sneak.

"Ara?" Izuku flinched, hearing a pair of noises. He flicked on the lights. "Mineta? Kaminari? N-Nani? What are you guys doing?"

"Sshh!" They both whispered. Mineta waved his hand for Midoriya to join them. "Hey Midoriya, you also thought of sneaking into the ladies' dorm. I see you're truly a degenerate like us."

"Eh? Degenerate? N-No. I just wanted some milk to help me sleep."

Kaminari chuckled. "But you can join us. I mean, come on dude, all those chicks are under the same roof as us!"

"What? Y-You guys should just go to bed. Give them their privacy." Izuku recalled how important that was to Kyouka.

"That's easy for you to say!" Mineta accused.

"Haah?"

"You think we haven't noticed? First Uraraka, then Jirou, and finally Yaoyorozu! Your choice of breast sizes are too inconsistent, and I'll be damned if you're the only one who gets to fondle the biggest in our class!"

Izuku squinted his eyes, confused, not knowing how to respond. He didn't have time as a ball was flung at him. "Eh?!" Dived, dodging Mineta's attack. "What's gotten into you?"

"I already know what kind of person you are! If we don't stop you, then you'll just stop us from peeking on the girls!"

Kaminari surprisingly (unsurprisingly) agreed with Mineta. "Oh crap, you're right dude. No hard feelings Midoriya but you're too much of a boy scout."

"Wh-What?! Of course, I won't let you guys do that! It's wrong, we were put in these dorms for our safety, not for your perversions!" Izuku gritted his teeth. Neither of them looked like they were going to back down from their mission. "Full cowling! Five percent!"

* * *

Jirou jumped up. Her earphone connected to the wall and she awoke from the thudding beat in the first floor. "When I find out who that is, oh, I'm gonna stab my quirk in their eyes." She walked out of her room.

She was blown away from the sight in front of her.

Kaminari was stuck to the ceiling from Mineta's balls. Mineta was pinned down on the ground with Izuku restraining him.

"What... the fuck?" Milk was spilled everywhere.

All of their heads snapped to her. Izuku had cringed eyes of regret. 'This isn't how I wanted to talk to Kyouka again...'

"Hey, Jirou!" Kaminari tried to play off. Jirou sweatdropped at his casual reply, given his situation.

"K-Kyouka, don't worry. Just go to bed." Izuku urged. "Y-You shouldn't get involved, trust me." He pressed down on Mineta as he continued to struggle.

Kyouka stepped back on her slipper. Izuku's voice was concerned but confident. She reevaluated the situation. She could guess at what happened. It must have been all Mineta's doing.

"It's not like I was gonna peek on her!" Mineta protested.

Jirou's eyes deadpanned, before her earphone jacks stabbed his eyes again, like in locker room. "Go, fall off a cliff." She mumbled.

"Awww! I'm blind!" Mineta ran off bumping into everything.

"And you." Jirou glared at the ceiling where Kaminari was stuck.

His smile grew uneasy. "I-I would have totally peeked on you, Jirou!"

Izuku cringed. 'Why would you say that?'

"I'm just leaving you there," Jirou grumbled with shark eyes, covering her chest.

She calmed down and finally faced Izuku. He gulped. "K-Kyouka..." What could either say to the other?

"Hey, um, Izuku, I've been working on some new music, wanna hear it?"

"S-Sure, but it's late. What if Sensei shows up. But we haven't talked for a while, I," Beginning his rambling debate.

Kyouka cracked up. "Shh." Flicking off the lights.

An earphone jerked him forward, a hand clasped his, dragging him upstairs. He gulped.

"Hey, Hey guys! I'm still stuck up here. Anybody? Mineta, you get your ass back here!"

* * *

The quiet click. An anxious heartbeat rythem. Whispers of steps leading to the bed.

They sat in silence. At first, a few lines of an awkward attempt. Pinkys touching, flinching, connecting again, another finger, and one more, till they were holding hands.

A blushing stare of the night.

"So the-that song?"

"Idiot." Quiet, and familiar, so familiar.

He held her palm gently but tightly, rubbing his thumb over her skin. "I was looking forward to it, I like your scratchy, soothing voice."

"Wh-What? Don't just say those things." A high pitch blushing vocal. Her note died down to a somber situation. "We still don't know what we are."

HIs eyebrows furrowed and unfurrowed, "Yeah, you're right. We should talk."

"Yeah, we should."

"Yeah."

"You said that already."

"Yeah."

..."Yeah."

They both released a breath of anticipation. Their hands remained intertwined.

"I'm still mad at you." She faced towards the drumset blocking the veranda. The curtains were open. Her skin had a porcelain gleam from the moon. She was wearing her deep dope shirt with some black boyshorts. Her eyes were stern, but deep down there was a liquid reflection of the night sky.

Izuku's throat dried. Her voice was not angry or happy, for the first time he heard a quivered acoustic of sadness. He reached for her lap with one hand, he hesitated, dropping it. "I know." He clenched it shut. "But you know I'm sorry too," He tried to clear the struggle of his dry throat, but it came out strained. "You do, right?"

She nodded her head. Her face lowered, turning back to him. Everything he said was true and he had subconsciously squeezed her hand after he finished. "Y-...Yeah." Her free hand reached down to the one with a dedicated grip. It softened at her touch. She brought both of their hands together. A suffocating smooth sigh, pressing her forehead on his. "It was really you..."

Izuku's eyes widened. Her voice always had the ability to go rock hard or sensually slow. "Wh... What do you mean?"

"Whenever I squeezed the All-Might doll you gave me, I... I would always think of your voice. " A broken honesty. "But at the hospital, it was you. Really you, and I never felt safer." She released her hands from his and hugged his neck.

Izuku's lips tensed, twitching worried. He shut his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her waist and upper back, holding her closer. "Sorry I wasn't there when you needed me!"

She shook her head against his, before burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"Things happen, but you still did something so... so like you, Izuku." You were supporting me.

"Kyouka, I... I," I was so scared when I saw you like that.

She nodded against his skin understanding his emotional cord. He felt a salty drop streaming down. She rose her head. Sniffle. "I'm still mad at you, but... but?"

"Y-Yeah... Yeah." Finally clearing his throat, Clasping her cheek. Her hand rose, tenderly holding his knuckles.

The moonlight. It was tranquil. Radiant.

Her loving sigh of the shoulders. His grip of safe comfort. A long embrace of flesh and heat. The constellations illuminated, dazzling fireflies. It twinkled the shine that had disappeared in their eyes.

"I missed you... I missed you so much." Whispered during the tender embrace of lips. It didn't matter who said it, they both meant it.

They both leaned back, sideways, on the bed. Her thigh crept over his hip, his hand started from her knee, sliding up. Her hands were cupping his cheeks, enjoying the kiss she had on repeat as her playlist.

They were about to start an intimate whisper in the shadows.

A loud noise interrupted. Izuku bounced up. "I was laying on something." They both stared at the protective gift. "All-Might..." He was surprised, but then a little solemn.

Kyouka's eyes grew before softening. "Hey Izuku, about All-Might. It's going to be all right. You're already kind of like him."

He gasped, facing her. "Kyouka..."

She bit her lip before going for it. She grabbed his cheeks again, scooting to him on the bed. Their noses nuzzled affectionately. He hugged her close, releasing the tension in his body. She started with a warm sigh against his cheek. His fingers curled, lightly scratching her skin.

The hollow wind ventilating through the air-conditioning vents started a gentle rhythm for her.

She whispered a lullaby. A lullaby only for his ears to hear.


	17. Chapter 17

17

Fire flies

 _An inhale and exhale._

A kiss and a whisper. Words of reconciliation and endearing passion.

Her back arched. His hands roamed past her wrist, his fingers slipped through her weakly closed fists, rubbing her palms, intertwining their hands.

She moaned out a gentle breath of loving fragrance. He lowered his lips to her taste. Her legs moved to the feeling, cuddling against his skin, meshing around his hips and waist

She clutched his hands tightly as he kept her pinned down. She bit his lower lip, keeping him in the pained embrace. Deku pulled away after her teeth released. He grunted at the pleasurable action.

Her thighs squeezed against him. He groaned, grinding against her. They were both losing themselves to the night.

He lowered his hands, releasing them from hers. His fingertips slid down her arms to the waist of her shirt. Her hands were already under his shirt, raising it up to his chest. She felt hot touching his chiseled body. Izuku held one of her tempting hands over his heart and leaned back down to her lips. "This will be what you still want in the morning, right?" He moaned, trying to think logically. She reacted with a whimpered agreement. Her bosom rose closer to him. Her breast and his chest tenderly pressed together as their bodies moved as one.

Her legs locked around his waist, grinding harder against his crotch. He moved his lips to her neck, nibbling because of the new sensation down there. "Fuck..." He heard her whisper. It was so naughty but sounded so sweet. The breath tickled his ear. He bit her skin, hearing a gasp of pain. His crotch pressed against her, rocking to her rhythm of up and down. His hand held her hip, his other buried his nails into her bare thigh. His fingers slipped up her shirt, raising it up, and grazing her cute tummy.

He gulped, his hand was over her breast and she wasn't wearing a bra. Her head was turned to the side, buried in the pillow. Her cheek was a lustful pink and she was panting with closed eyes. He lifted himself up to his knees. She opened her eyes and faced him again. She had a curious look of wanting more.

He threw off his shirt. She gulped. The moon was shining into the room and his abs were glimmering with a light sweat. She sat up and reached for the end of her shirt and also took hers off. He subconsciously bit his lip at her smooth skin. He lowered his head to hers, taking her lips. She scooted closer, landing her hands on his chest, they felt around his body, remembering the soft skin but sturdy muscle under. He leaned her back down, holding her. Her head landed softly on the pillow. His lips traveled to her cheek with butterfly kisses. Her hand roamed up to his hair, holding it as his lips nuzzled her neck. He noticed her earphone jack and lightly sucked on the tip. It must have felt good because he heard her suck in a breath and push down his head.

"Izuku...!"

"Yeah..?"

"D-Do it again..." A shy breath of pleasure.

He gave a light chuckle. She loved the feeling of his vibrating chest. Her hand looped under his armpit to his shoulderblade, holding him dearly and passionately. Their grinding was rocking her world.

Bzz, bzz.

They ignored it, focused on their passionate make out. They never went this far before and wanted to explore.

Bzz, bzz.

They kept trying to ignore it.

Bzz, bzz.

"What the actual fuck?" Kyouka groaned, annoyed. Izuku sighed with a defeated laugh, dropping his forehead on the crook of her neck. "I'm sorry." She mumbled.

"It's fine. It might be important." He let out, lifting himself from her.

She stomped to her desk, swiping her phone open. Her eyes grew slowly. "I-Izuku, you need to leave!"

"Huh?" He tilted his head, she threw a shirt right at his face.

"Sensei is checking rooms! The group chat is blowing up!"

"Ara?! N-No way!" He climbed off the bed, putting on the shirt. "What do we do?"

"G-Go out through the veranda!"

"N-Nani, how am I supposed-"

"I don't know! You'll figure something out!"

"You're abandoning me?"

"I'm sorry! B-But now we're even, okay?" Shoving him out.

"What?!"

"See you in the morning." She whispered closing the door. Izuku stood, dumbfounded. Blink, blink. She opened the door again, "I almost forgot," and snuck in a quick kiss, "Goodnight, tonight was awesome!"

Izuku was thinking. 'I need to use full cowling! I'm sorry All-Might!' Before he could activate it, he heard another door open and close. He stared across the building, on the veranda farthest from him, someone was also in his predicament. "Ojiro?!" He was leaving Tooru's room.

"M-Midoriya?!" Just as shocked.

"So... Yeah."

"Yeah..."

Both felt awkward about being caught doing the same thing.

"The group chat?"

"The group chat."

"So... We should probably?"

"Yeah, I think so..."

Kyouka and Tooru yelled at them to hurry up.

Ojiro used his tail and Midoriya used full cowling.

* * *

 _Momo was walking down the hallway of the hospital. She heard a familiar voice and glanced inside a room. Her eyes grew. Midoriya had just whispered with a strained voice. "Wake up soon, okay?" He prayed._

 _Momo could only stare, seeing him set down his gift for Jirou. He left and ran into her. She played it off, saying she was waiting for him to say goodbye with that endearing smile she always used to hide behind._

* * *

Izuku sighed in relief, sneaking back into his room. He checked his phone. Yup, it was filled with messages from the chat.

 **Kaminari: Guys, Sensei just came!**

Izuku cringed. "He was kind of like a signal light for us." A little guilty that Sensei saw Kaminari stuck to the ceiling.

He scanned through the messages. Everyone was panicking.

 **Aoyama: Mineta is helplessly passed out in the hallway. ;)**

"What does that wink mean?" Izuku didn't want to acknowledge the karma Mineta was about to receive.

 **Mina: What? You're kidding! Lol!**

 **Iida: Why aren't any of you in bed?**

 **Kirishima: You're awake too?!**

 **Uraraka: It feels like a massive sleepover, huh?**

 **Tsuyu: Guys, be serious.**

 **Jirou: you guys woke me up.**

"Liar..."

 **Yaoyorozu: we need proper rest, everyone don't go to sleep because of Sensei, get sleep for a great day of progress tomorrow! :)**

"Momo..." He smiled, thinking of sending her a message about him and Kyouka.

Until Sensei knocked on his door.

* * *

 _Gorillaz-Fire flies_

 _I was ever chasing fireflies._

 _Sometimes, I follow a firefly, it takes me into the night._

 _I got drunk, I'm sorry. Am I losing you?_

 _Izuku sighed. That was his favorite song from the band Jirou introduced him to. Those lyrics hurt a lot more, now that he did indeed lose her. He only thought of the song because of the firefly he saw, as they looked for wood in the forest._

 _"Do you think we have enough?" She politely asked._

 _Izuku's eyes absently shifted away from the lone firefly. "Hm, um, yeah, probably Yaoyorozu."_

 _"Is something wrong?" She tilted her head to his focused eyes._

 _"N-No nothing. It sounds stupid, but I just want to follow this firefly and see where it goes."_

 _"That's not stupid. Come on, I love nature." She agreed, tagging along to his quest._

 _"Yaoyorozu?" He was caught off guard by her._

 _She giggled as the firefly began to buzz away. His confused face grew a smile._

 _They followed it to a field._

 _"Beautiful..." Her eyes twinkled to the mesmerizing sight in the moonlight. The wood they were carrying fell in front of them._

 _Izuku gasped. "I-It is..."_

 _A field of fireflies._

 _A hand crept to his and held it._

 _His eyes grew, shifting to her._

 _"Um, Izuku, can you start c-calling me Momo?"_

 _His eyes were lost in the reflected beauty of her eyes. "Momo..?"_

 _She squirmed, shutting her eyes but squeezed his hand. "Y-Yes! I know it is stupid, but-"_

 _"It's not stupid." He replied as she did earlier._

 _Her eyes opened to his sincere voice._

 _They shared an intimate stare. Momo's heart skipped a beat at the squeeze his hand returned to her._

 _Her lips had parted. Their shoulders were brushing together, and they were facing each other. Izuku didn't know why, but he gulped and his lips parted._

 _"Momo..."_

 _"Izuku..."_

 _Both with shadowed eyes, leaning closer._

An inhale and exhale _._

 _I'm love drunk, I'm sorry. Am I losing you?_

 _Sometimes, I follow a firefly. It takes me into the night._

* * *

Izuku sighed in relief again. "Safe." But for some reason, Sensei kept looking at Izuku's shirt. It was Kyouka's deep dope shirt. The same shirt she was wearing when he visited her home for the dorms.

Izuku stared at his phone again. He began to type a message to Momo. "Wait, till I tell her!"

 _"M-Midoriya... your arms are fine, right?"_

He clicked on her contact with a smile.

 _"Sometimes, others want to take that extra step for you."_

He began typing the message with a halfway down grin.

 _"Can you kiss me good night?"_

His lips dropped completely.

 _The memory they shared at the training camp. The fireflies._

He leaned back and slid down the door, after completing the message.

 _A notebook she gave him after All-Might retired. She was the only one to visit him after the news. She had created it, saying, "The best gifts are the ones we put our feelings into, right?"_

He stared at his desk where the innocent notebook laid. He stared back at his phone.

"Ara...?" A quiet droplet fell on the screen and slid down. "I... I can't hit send..."


	18. Chapter 18

18

Main floor duet

* * *

Izuku laid on the bed for a good half hour, staring at the message he had typed. His eyes were dropping. A half-lidded drowse, his thumb slipped and hit send.

His eye glazed over at the vibration of the click. "Huh?... Fuck!" He clutched his phone. "Eh, I mean... N-No." Jirou was influencing his vocabulary. "I really hit send."

He was wide awake for the next ten minutes. Maybe she fell asleep _._ He hoped.

9 minutes and 36 seconds in, his phone vibrated.

He tapped the notification with the midnight anxiety he had. He read the text message.

He groaned, dropping his head face first in the pillow.

'I don't know what's worse, how long it took for her to reply, or that it was only a smiley face, two thumbs up, and a heart emoji.' Trying to sleep.

"...Fuck."

* * *

Before the dorms.

"Dude, I'm telling you, I still got a shot!" Kaminari shoved Kirishima. He simply laughed and told him to stay positive, but the joking pessimism was there.

After the dorms.

"Dude, I'm telling you guys this concert is going to be awesome!" Shoving Deku, and Kirishima. Izuku ruffled the back of his hair, with a nervous laugh of agreement. Kirishima gave a manly acknowledge meant.

Before the dorms.

"Man, I can never show my face to Deku or Jirou again, I feel like such a hopeless idiot." She sulked to Iida across the table. Iida comforted her with his professional mannerisms.

After the dorms.

"It sure is!" Uraraka agreed and then turned to Jirou. "Hey, Jirou can we go play some instruments in your room again?" Jirou nodded her head, twiddling her earphone with her finger, saying sure.

They were all chilling in the middle of the co-ed area. They had bought tickets to a concert. It was a few days away. Izuku and Jirou flashed a smile to each other. Everything was back to normal for everyone.

Almost everyone. Izuku turned his attention to Momo. She was nodding along to the conversation, she felt his eyes on her. She smiled at him with closed eyes, never meeting his, before opening them, and going back to the conversation. They both acted normal, and never really talked about it, but they knew. They knew.

Quiet moments between them were awkward and strained. Neither of them acknowledged the change in dynamic, but neither of them wanted to stay like this.

Momo kept her eyes focused on the moving lips in the conversation, but internally she was zoned out.

Izuku glanced down at his hands over his lap, he clenched them shut, closing his eyes.

They both had the same thought. 'We're friends, so why are we like this..?'

An earphone tickled his neck. "Hey, what's wrong?" She whispered. Jirou was sitting next to Midoriya and noticed his unusual solemn expression.

Izuku shivered at the feel of her quirk. He stuttered in surprise. "N-Nothing, I just hope we don't get in trouble."

Kyouka shrugged. "As long as we're back by curfew, then it's all good. You're always so uptight dude, lighten up." She nonchalantly scolded him.

He had a nervous grin, tapping his shorts with a beat of his hands. "I guess so, huh? And you're always so aloof and chill."

"Don't say no cheesy shit, like opposites attract." She smirked at his loss of words.

"H-How did you know?"

She nudged him with her elbow. "I can read you like your notebook."

He clamped his mouth with his hand. "Like asking without permission?"

She gasped. "H-Hey, fuck you, I apologized."

Izuku laughed at his victory. She shoved him and then jumped on him, putting him in a headlock. "Yeah, keep laughing! I'ma rip out those pages in your head."

"Kyouka!" He laughed in protest.

"I got your back, Jirou!" Mina jumped on them.

"No, what are you doing?!" Izuku's protest began to grow worried.

"Hey, no fair, Midoriya needs our back." Kaminari and Kirishima were about to jump in, too.

"N-No wait, guys, we were just joking-! Ackhh!"

"Please no fighting in the dorms!" Iida ordered. Momo was the only one besides him in agreement.

"In that case!" Tooru attacked, dragging Ojiro with her. "Sorry, Midoriya." He mumbled.

"No please!" More piled on. "Hmp! Need... Air..."

Before long everyone got in a dogpile above Midoriya and Jirou. 'What's the point? How do you decide a winner?' Were Izuku's last thoughts as darkness began to take him.

"This got carried away too fast." Jirou gritted her teeth. "Who's hand is that?!"

Izuku's eyes shot open. 'I can't let them crush Kyouka. This is a hero's too right? Protecting a women's dignity! Full cowling!'

A crackle of lighting. Everyone gulped and glanced at each other, they all felt a sudden rush in resistance below them. In a blast, they were all thrown off as Izuku freed himself, hugging Kyouka. She had her arms around his neck. Izuku's feet touched the ceiling, he was upside down staring at the mess of people sprawled out. He could already see the culprit. 'When did Mineta sneak in there?' He held Kyouka tight around her waist and upper back. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, thanks." Her lips were parted as she stared at his heroic face. 'He's always so different when he's serious, It's exciting to see, and at the same time I feel safe.'

He flipped upright, Jirou yelped in surprise but acted like she didn't after the land, even as Midoriya apologized. She barked that she wasn't scared.

Izuku apologized again with a sweatdrop. "Sorry, I just assumed because I heard-"

"You didn't hear anything, and stop apologizing so much, didn't I already tell you, you shouldn't."

"Y-Yeah sorry."

"What did I just say."

"Sorry." But he grew a simple smile.

Her eye twitched along with a headphone. "Now your just trying to piss me off."

"Yeah... Sorry." His smile grew into a full-blown grin as he noticed Kyouka trying to suppress a smirk.

"Izuku, dummy." She crossed her arms and turned her head to the side to hide her smirk.

"That was no fair Midoriya, we didn't use our quirks!" Mina stood up, along with the rest, who were agreeing with her.

"What? But you guys were crushing us?"

Jirou sighed and kind of had to agree with everyone else. "They have a point Izuku." She had her earphones out ready to spring at their enemy. "Let's get them."

"What? Why does it always get competitive with everyone." He sighed when he saw Bakugou and Todoroki join the fray. 'Kacchan has a six sense for these things, and I think Todoroki is only going along with it to be polite, like the king of rooms event we had...'

Iida and Momo were the only two trying to regain any order.

"It's a free for all right?! Die, fuckers!" Kacchan attacked everyone and started the hailstorm of quirks.

"Revelry in the dark."

Uraraka cringed. 'He said it again.' She heard a flick. The lights were off. Uraraka froze in understanding fear. 'Revelry in the dark!'

Acid. Fire and ice. Explosion. Gravity. A spectacular naval laser from Aoyama. Purple balls. A furry tail stopping the perverted kid. "Full cowling, five percent!" An earphone jack. Momo actually began to create child-proof insulation around the walls and objects. Iida was directing the flow of traffic, if they wouldn't follow the rules, then they would at least break them in a civilized manner! A hard fist. Finally, a human stun gun, electrifying everyone. They all shook before falling down.

Kaminari stood as the winner with a thumbs up daze.

"Like hell, he's the winner!" Bakugou shoved him down claiming victory.

Izuku sat up holding his head. Everything was all over the place, mentally and physically. Everyone else was getting back up.

Except...

His eyes widened. "No!" He scurried to the body. "It can't be!" He shook and shook. "Come on, come on!"

"Oh no..." Momo covered her mouth with a hand.

"Dude..." Kirishima tried to see clearly bit could tell who it was.

"I bet you would have been a great hero..." Izuku cried.

Jirou stood besides Izuku as he tried to wake up Mineta. "He was a pervert, but kind of funny... I guess." Not really.

"That's cruel, Kyouka." He rubbed his eyes with his arm but his lips were curving at her dry insult.

A faint struggle. "...Mid.. iya."

Midoriya's eyes grew with hope. "Mineta, it's me." He held him in his arms staring down at his fallen friend.

"Can I (cough) ask (cough, cough) something?"

"Anything..." He replied with teary eyes.

"Can you use Jirou's headphones in a sexual way..?"

"Just go die already!" Jirou spat out.

"Actually Mineta-"

"Don't answer him!" She stabbed her headphones into the both of them.

"But it was his dying wish." Izuku was down.

For the first time, Momo wanted to know the answer to one of Mineta's lewd ideas. Her cheeks heated up and she slapped them with her hands to calm down.

Everyone began to slowly give up on the impromptu fight. Kacchan faced all around for anyone willing to go on, but they all just went back to chilling how they were, except Mineta. He was left on the floor.

* * *

"I'm beat." Kyouka sighed. Izuku agreed, leaning back on the chair with his arms dangling behind it. Kyouka was laying on his lap. Both with a tired expression. Ojiro and Tooru were in a similar situation, except she was using his tail as a pillow.

Aizawa had called all four of them into the teacher's office. He found about Midoriya and Jirou because of the shirt he was wearing. Tooru and Ojiro wasn't difficult either, there was left off strains of fur on her, easily noticeable, given her invisible body. He gave them an automatic lecture about public display of affection on school grounds, hinting for them, that it was acceptable as long as it was off school premise.

He also punished them with extra hero behavior training... Let's leave it at that.

"So how was that extra training guys?" Uraraka asked all for of them.

Exasperated, Tooru sighed out. "We walked so many elderly folk across the street."

Jirou cringed. "So many whining kids, a few I can handle, but... Oh, God!"

"It's over, it's over, guys..." Ojiro agreed with them.

Uraraka hopped back. 'Deku hasn't said anything, probably because he has nothing nice to say! It must have been horrible.'

"I'm going to bed." Tooru complained. More walking. Ojiro agreed. Uraraka accompanied her, actually helping her on more occasion than one.

Leaving, Izuku and Kyouka. She sat up, leaning back on the couch with her thighs tucked to his side, facing him. She hummed a tune.

"Today was fun." He mumbled with a tired breath. "Teaming up with you, I mean." It meant a lot to me.

"Yeah, it was." She poked his chest. "Ne, Izuku?"

"Hm?" He shifted his laid back head to her direction. His hand rose and absently played with her earphone.

"You're hot when you're brave." She straight up told him.

"Eh? K-Kyouka!"

She teasingly rolled her eyes. "It's been awhile since you got nervous around me, huh?" She scooted closer to him, smugly.

"I m-mean I usually am, I just try to hide it."

"Ooh, really?" Her amused half-lidded eyes inquired. Her earphone tickled his tinted cheek.

He fought back a shiver. She giggled seeing his willpower. She tackled him into a hug and they fell back on the couch, his head rested on the armrest. Both paused their playful argument.

A tender note to the moment between them.

A loving stare in the quiet melody.

Lyrical lips playing a kiss. Passionate breaths whispering a symphony of sentiment.

Kyouka's eyes fluttered open and she pulled away, staring down at her boyfriend.

Izuku shifted comfortably, his fingers tenderly held her waist and released the grip, staring up at his girlfriend.

"Are you excited for the concert."

"I hope they play some of their old stuff too, not just their new album, although it's good too."

"Yeah, it's gonna be fun."


	19. Chapter 19

19

Hollywood

* * *

Izuku, Kyouka, and everyone else who bought tickets left the U.A. dorms. They took a walk outside of school property.

Kyouka had black shorts with a chain dangling around the side of her waist. Black thigh high stockings went up to her shorts, red boots like Midoriya but with more her style. A white tank top, his green hoody with bunny ears similar to his hero suit. The sweater was a sloppy aesthetic, purposely hanging chill around her arms, showcasing her smooth cool shoulders. Always wearing her signature black chocker.

Izuku also had his red boots, like always. Black slim fit jeans, a green long sleeve properly buttoned up, a red shirt under, and his sleeves rolled up to his biceps.

Momo was a try hard like always. She had a black skin-tight dress with a white bow tied around behind her ribcage, it gave a perky increase to her ample bust. White flats, a bracelet, and a handbag.

Kaminari and Kirishima had band t-shirts. Kaminari had a black jacket and Kirishima had a red sweater.

Tooru and Mina had shirts of 2D. Uraraka and Iida had shirts of Noddle.

Tokoyami, he was always boss status with the edgy attitude. Nuff said.

Ojiro, Todoroki, and Tsuyu were the only ones dressed casually or not wearing anything band related.

"Beautiful!" Aoyama complimented everyone, clapping his hands.

Bakugou was with Kirishima and Kaminari. His hands were in his pockets as he walked behind everyone, glancing at the dynamics. The rich girl, Deku, and the rocker chick were always hanging out. Iida and Uraraka. Mina was always hyper and up to something. Froppy was the fluff of the group. Todoroki and Tokoyami were oddly good friends. He balled his fists in his pockets. "Hurry up!" He obnoxiously stomped ahead of them. Like hell, he wanted to hang out with them in the first place.

"Huh? Kacchan?"

"What's his problem? Dude needs to chill the fuck out."

"Oh my, I wonder what could be upsetting him?"

* * *

They all boarded the train. Izuku and Kyouka sat side by side. Momo and Todoroki across from them.

Kyouka was staring at the passing by setting, hearing music from his phone with her quirk. He was with his Bluetooth headphones. Her knees were tucked up as she curled in his sweater. She leaned on him, pressing their shoulders together. He paid it no mind, subconsciously growing a small smile. He sagged his shoulders, resting on her as well.

"It's going to take a while to arrive." Momo mentioned, trying to initiate a conversation.

Izuku agreed. "Yeah, but I bet it will be amazing." Trying to return the effort.

"Yes, it will."

Both glad they were finally having a normal conversation.

"Um, yeah, I can't wait."

A normal conversation that tried to go on.

"Me either, Izuku."

"Yeah, Momo."

Another awkward conversation between them that went nowhere.

Momo's nail tapped on her armrest with internal frustration. She told herself she would be fine with everything. She was fine when Jirou texted her in the middle of the night that she was back with Izuku. They texted for a while until Jirou fell asleep. Momo actually had a content smile that night until her phone chimed. It was Izuku saying he was with Jirou again. 'Why did he wait so long to tell me... If it was as important as it was to Jirou to tell me, he would have done so around the same time she did, but if it wasn't a big deal for him to let me know, then he would have never bothered... so why wait late into the night?' She shifted her head to him, trying to start another conversation.

"Yo, this song sucks." Jirou scrolled through his phone.

"H-Huh? So harsh on my music."

"Dude, I need a song that goes with the scenery. I got to vibe to it in my head, you know?"

"Y-Yeah actually. You come up with random scenarios too, huh?"

She pouted her lips outwardly smug. Her eyes never left his phone screen. "No, also memories, like when I interned."

"So nonchalant."

"Oh, found one." She hit play and went back to chilling, window gazing, and using him as a snuggle buddy. She ignored everyone else, hearing her music. Izuku sighed with a hidden smirk, leaning back on Kyouka too. He pulled out a pencil and a pocket notebook from his jeans. So peaceful and tranquil between them. Both enjoying their hobbies in the company of the other. Jirou teased Izuku about him actually having a pocket notebook. He argued back that what if he saw an interesting quirk. It was a playful argument that ended up in a conversation between musicians and their quirks, with both of their eyes lighting up.

Momo closed her lips without an attempt to say something any more. Her positive energy was cut down from their natural interaction. She faced away from them, wearing that rich girl, innocent, smile.

* * *

"There's still like two hours before it starts? You guys wanna go do something?" Kaminari pointed out.

"Any ideas?" Kirishima had his arms crossed. Iida suggested a library, to which was met with a resounding no, and an unheard yes from Midoriya.

"There's a hall of heroes in a museum!" Momo was looking through her phone for interesting places.

"Seriously?" Kirishima hyped himself up, maybe his favorite was there too.

"It does sound fun." Tsuyu agreed with her finger to her lips.

"Oh dear, it's on the other side of the city, taking the bus would take to long to get there and the concert. A taxi would be ideal but given the number of us. Hm, I could call our limo agency and see if any of our drivers are out here."

Everyone had a blank stare of disbelief. A sweatdrop fell from all of them as she continued on. Izuku had a normal stare, not aware.

Jirou ran to Momo and shook her shoulders. "Get a hold of yourself!"

"Huh? Jirou?"

Kyouka had intense eyes. "M-Momo, you were rambling like Izuku!"

"Nani!" That sounded like an insult to Deku.

"Guys, what if it's contagious?" Mina joked, but some took it seriously and kept their distance from him.

"Ashido?! I'm not a disease."

"Oh no. Was I mumbling like him?" Momo clamped her mouth shut. "Am I sick?"

"I thought you were acting normal." Izuku weakly defended himself after her unintended insult.

They all chuckled slightly.

Both grew wide eyes. A normal interaction between the two. They glanced at each other for a moment sharing a smile. Things didn't have to be so awkward between them.

Izuku had the sudden urge to chase a dream he saw in the twinkle of her eyes as she glanced away, back to the conversation of the group. His heart rate grew excited for a moment before dropping. He ignored that thought in the back of his head.

Momo was glad that they finally shared something normal. 'Yes, we can be regular friends again.' Something not intimate. 'Exactly, nothing like that with Izuku.' Pure friendship, just like with Jirou. '...That's truly what I want...' Peeking at Jirou and Midoriya.

They looked so happy.

Everyone looked happy.

They all did. Really.

And,

They all went to go walk.

* * *

 _Jealousy is gunfire,_

 _It makes you kill the vibe._


	20. Chapter 20

20

The now now

* * *

Sorcererz

"Everybody cool down." Kyouka told the rest of her anxious friends.

Everybody was on time, on time.

"We made it." Izuku sighed in relief.

They didn't know what to do, so instead of actually going anywhere, they just walked to the concert, underestimating the distance. They entered, showing their tickets. Stepping inside, they all expressed the sight in their own ways.

It was a huge stadium with an open roof, showing the sky. The purple clouds swirling around the orange, hazy, sunset, sky was a psychedelic muse to the setting.

"C'mon, let's try to get closer." Kyouka took charge, it was her environment. She clamped Izuku's wrist, dragging him through the crowd.

"There doesn't appear to be any seats?" Momo was trudging along with the rest of them.

"Duh, we're gonna vibe to this when it starts."

Momo gasped quietly. "Oh, I see." She had that fake signature smile.

The lights to the stage dimmed out.

"This is gonna rock!" Kirishima pumped up his arms.

"Shut up dude, it's starting!" Mina lept up on Kirishima. She sat on his shoulders for a height boost to see.

Kirishima wept, holding her thighs for safety, and she didn't seem to mind. "Man, this is the best..." He whispered with manly tears.

There was a screen behind the stage. It began to light up a visual. The crowd roared as the first notes began.

The hand gripping his wrist began to shake with anticipation. His eyes naturally glanced at Kyouka. 'Her eyes.' His eyes. She yelled out along with the crowd. 'Her voice.' His silence. His eyes swayed back to the stage. He rose the fist she was holding, screaming his lungs out with her.

Both of their voices died down, same with the crowd.

The melancholic rhythm and scratchy voice blared at a mellow pace. Red lights roamed around the crowd and stadium, matching the red and black visualizer on the screen.

As Jirou said, they all began to vibe, began to flow, began to a calm pace.

Izuku and Jirou in an embrace. Embracing the melody. They were slowed down, song drowned.

Everybody hold on.

Everybody hold on to your inner vision.

She was alone. Momo's hands fidgeted with her revealing dress. The lights, the red revealing lights. Insecure and lost without mental vision. Given tunnel vision.

* * *

One percent

Every sound.

It was tranquil. The crowd was slow swaying to the uplifting depression.

Izuku and Kyouka were matching the soft remedy. She had her arms around his neck, he had his around her waist. It was quiet, but they could hear every sound.

She sighed at the soothing beat. Izuku relaxed his tensed posture, feeling her sink into their embrace. Her reciprocated, placing his chin on her shoulder. Their bodies were mixed by the rhythmic solution.

"This is nice." It was his normal voice but sounded like a whisper to go along with the music.

She squeezed his neck tighter and nodded against him. "Yeah." Spoken just as vocally.

A music box holding the only two. It began to stop turning as the inducing song faded out.

* * *

Tranz

The upbeat attitude threw the bodies around. Dance around, jump around.

Izuku and Kyouka lost themselves to each other. Lost themselves to the dopamine synthesis of music.

Momo's head was caving in. Where was she? She couldn't find anyone else. So many people.

"Hey, come on, Momo!" She skipped up to her with that punk bass boost. "Let loose!" Kyouka rocked her hips with a smirk.

"Huh? Wh-What?!" Momo couldn't believe it. She was dancing with Kyouka!

"Yeah!" Jirou giggled, dancing with her friend. Momo returned the smile, throwing her arms up, shaking her body with Kyouka's.

"This is fun!" Momo yelled over the music. She was scared and lonely until Jirou found her.

"Really?! I thought this wasn't your thing!" Just as loudly.

"I always have fun with you!" She had a gleeful grin.

Jirou chuckled. "If only it was classical music with tea!" She teased.

"No! I prefer this! We can dance!" Momo laughed along, recalling the conversation they had so long ago.

Their bodies had built a light sweat, and the heat mixing between them was intoxicating. Their skin was meshing against each other and neither of them seemed to mind.

Jirou was too thrilled from the music to notice their intimacy. Momo was too excited from their intimacy to notice the music.

Momo's hands and Jirou's hands naturally skimmed over the other's body, flowing with the music.

Lost in the passion of the music, their lips danced, embraced. Momo held Jirou's cheek with one hand. Jirou was subconsciously kissing back, with one hand on Momo's dress. Her eyebrows furrowed. The fabric she was clutching was soft, the body under was tender, not a hidden strength like Izuku. She opened her eyes to see Momo kissing her. Disbelief etched in her wide orbs.

She shoved Momo back. "I, I um, sorry!" Jirou spun on her boots, forcing herself through the crowd.

"I actually kissed her..." Her eyes stung but her lips had a warm lingering taste. "Jirou wait!" She reached out, trying to follow. Her voice was inaudible at a distance and she lost sight of her best friend. "How could I actually kiss her!?"

* * *

Souk Eye

"Where is she?" Izuku couldn't find Kyouka. They got separated, and he didn't know where the rest were at. "Wait... Momo!" He waved his hand. He hesitated with a worried face. She had a shocked and guilty expression. He walked up behind her. He tapped her shoulder. "Momo?"

"Get away!" On pure instinct, she slapped the invader away.

"Gwhaa!" He stumbled back.

"Izuku?! Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" She had her hands over her mouth with apologetic orbs.

He rubbed his cheek with an ironic smile. "Why am I glad that you gave a familiar reaction?" He dropped his hand and gave a motion with his arms. "So, um, wanna dance?" They were back to being normal friends right? This was normal.

"Y-Yes. Why not?" Momo forced that signature smile on her face. 'Anyway is so complicated for me...' Between either Jirou or Izuku. Momo wanted to find tomorrow and ease in, get past this.

Izuku's eyes were completely focused on her. The comfy folk tempo was picking up to a groovy funk to dance to. Izuku tried to take the lead with Momo. There was something about her bittersweet movements. Her hips swayed naturally but her face was focused on the floor and her shoulders were sagged down.

He could only think with the lyrics.

Why you looking so beautiful to me now when you're so sad?

* * *

 _Hey, what is this droning, I hear it, there, over on me._

 _Not anyone of us who is in search._

 _Do you dance like this? Forever._

 _I will always think about you._


	21. Chapter 21

21

All alone

* * *

All alone, all alone.

"Where is everyone?" Izuku and Momo had left the concert. His phone was dead so he couldn't call or text anyone. 'Kyouka...' He strained his eyes through the crowd of people.

Momo tugged at the waist of his shirt. "M-Maybe, if we wait for everyone to file out we can spot them?" She suggested but honestly couldn't face Jirou. She skimmed her fingertips over her lips. Her cheeks had a graze of scarlet.

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea." Izuku scanned the area, a bench in front of a tree. "Let's wait for them over there." He pointed.

"Sure." Momo nodded along, hiding her internal struggle with that innocent face.

They sat down in silence.

All alone, all alone.

Izuku had a normal face plastered. 'Y-Yeah, b-because this is normal.' Simply sitting beside a friend. He ignored the images he accidentally saved in his mind, the images of her body moving to the music. Izuku instantly hid his head, staring straight down. He tapped his pants with his hands nervously. His stiff shoulders were also raised.

Momo didn't notice his flustered state. She was preoccupied. 'What do I do? Should I talk to her? What would I even say? I'm sorry, I kissed you. How would I even explain why I did that?! Excuse me, Jirou, I hope you don't mind but I have a thing for you and your boyfriend... boyfriend?' Realizing that, the mentioned boyfriend was right next to her. "Eeip!" Clamping her mouth shut at her sudden outburst. 'I forgot he was here! How foolish of me.'

Izuku's face rose to the sound of a quiet peep. "Huh? Momo was that you?" His lips naturally curved at her trying to protest, but ultimately caving. He chuckled, before mumbling, "That's so totally unlike you, but also like you, you know?"

"Pardon? How?"

Izuku ruffled the back of his hair, and then scratched his freckled cheek. "It's just you're always so reserved, but sometimes you don't keep it in check."

"Y-You noticed something like that?"

This time it was Izuku to let out a peep. He balled his fist over his lap. "Yeah, I mean I o-observe quirks, but I also try to analyze the user, because a quirk could also be considered a personality trait, and... I don't really know where I'm going with this, help me?"

Momo's eyes relaxed and she covered her giggles. "Izuku, you're so smart, how could you be fumbling now?" She calmed down. "But you're right, quirks can help define a person." She had a simple expression, until it dropped, recalling his quirk. "Hey, Izuku?"

"Yeah, Momo?" He had a sincere smile, glad they were acting how they used to.

"Your arms are still okay, right?" A creation of deja vu.

Izuku's eyes widened. "Y...Yeah, Momo." He felt guilty for sharing a secret with Momo that Jirou didn't know about. He ignored it and continued because Momo had those eyes of concern. "I, um, I actually got arm supports for my hero suit, so don't worry!" He pumped his arm up and threw a punch. "See?" He cheered.

"That great! I was just worried, sorry." She felt slightly foolish. Izuku would obviously look for a solution to his predicament on his own. Her index finger was on the bench, drawing circles.

"Momo?"

"Yes, Izuku?"

"Thanks for worrying."

She gasped, slightly confused.

He read her expression and elaborated. "I mean, I appreciate that someone does worry... But I don't really want to tell anyone else, because they'll just worry more so than needed, especially Kyouka. She tries to hide it, like, before we moved into the dorms. We would always meet at a crosswalk closer to me, and I always kind of felt like Kyouka was going out of her way for me, actually I knew she was because I've been to her house, and figured out the distances..." Izuku had a subconscious smile, Kyouka was the mushy caring type, behind the scenes. "If she finds out about my arms she will act like she doesn't care but-"

"Worry deeply when no one is looking." Momo finished. "Jirou is that way. She even begged me not to tell you about the crosswalk." Momo smiled. Jirou was adorable that morning.

"Really?"

"Yes, it was that morning, before I found out about your relationship with her." She politely smiled. "I guess if you already knew, then it doesn't matter if I tell you, ne?"

Izuku nodded, then grew sinister stars in his blacked out eyes. "Wait till I tease her about it!"

"Eh? I-Izuku, you can't tell her I told you! I swore!" She slapped his shoulder repeatedly, acting like a cute rich girl.

"You can take a picture of a flustered Kyouka when I surprise her!" He joked, recalling how bad Momo tried to take a picture of her that walk to school.

"Deal!" Completely forgetting about the tension she had with Jirou right now.

"Too easily persuaded."

As the people left the stadium, Izuku and Momo stayed on the bench, talking and laughing. All alone.

All alone.

* * *

All alone.

All alone. "Nothing." Izuku sighed. Nobody had left the stadium for a while now. He stared up. "And it's raining." Izuku groaned. Did they really leave without them? "Hey Momo, have they texted you or anything?" He shrugged his head to her.

"No. I believe the weather is messing up the signal. They might be as worried as we are. It's best if we head back to the dorms, hopefully, they were sensible and headed back there when they noticed the rain." She concluded.

"So we're not sensible? We've been waiting out here for about half an hour in the rain." The tree was their only shelter.

"I-I didn't mean it like that! We're just worried about them!" She argued bashfully. "I didn't mean to call you an idiot!"

"Us. Technically you called us both idiots." He had a playful smirk. "Come on, let's head to the train station." He stood up.

A blank expression of hurt pride. "I'm an idiot..?"

Izuku tried to keep a straight face but her reaction was priceless. He broke out a smile, offering his hand. "Even though you called us that, I think you're pretty capable, Creati." Tilting his head, his smile grew into a full-blown grin.

A grin telling her that everything was fine.

"Creati?" Her hero name? She stared up at him and that smile. That reassuring smile. "Yes, let's go." Taking his permanently scarred hand, and standing up alongside him.

All alone, all alone.

Alone, they sat again. "We missed the train." Momo sighed, twirling the umbrella she created in her hands. "If we make the next one, then we can make it before curfew, I believe."

Izuku nodded. "I hope Kyouka's not mad."

Momo's casual smile faltered. That's right, Jirou. She had just kissed her, and she was also Izuku's girlfriend. "D-Don't worry, I'm sure she will understand."

Izuku's head dropped, he held his hair with his hands. "I'm just worried. What if she gets upset, like at the mall with Uraraka?" He couldn't break up with her again. This was his second chance.

Momo's faltered smile fell completely. "You... You still think about that?"

He nodded his depressed head. "Yeah, all of the events leading up to it were out of my control... but the last moments were all on me..."

A few raindrop tears slipped off the umbrella.

"I didn't know you still thought about that?"

"I, I have a tendency to over analyze situations like that."

"So do I..."

"Really?"

"Yeah..."

All alone, all alone.

"Izuku, I never properly apologized to you did I?"

"Apologize? What are you talking about?"

"It... It was my fault! It was all my fault!... Sorry."

Yaoy- Momo? I don't understand?"

"I let Bakugou know! I knew he would drag you away! I knew Uraraka and Kaminari both wanted to try something! I knew everything... I planned everything... I'm supposed to be Jirou's best friend, but how could I even call myself that?"

"..."

"I was scared of losing Jirou... She means so much to me..."

"...Momo."

"But then you had to... you had to be YOU! You never even let me feel guilty. You reached out to me, asking for help. You kept spending time with me, I know it was for her sake, but I told myself it was for me... I wanted to be selfish... with both of you..."

"Momo, I..."

The umbrella was above the both of them, keeping them in weather's embrace.

"Momo... I'm not mad."

"(Sniffle) wh-what? But I even went behind Jirou's back. I betrayed both you and her... how could you not be mad?"

"Because you're sorry, right?"

"(Gasp)"

"I mean, Kyouka forgave me... and yeah I'm surprised, and honestly I don't know how to feel about this. When Iida told me, I tried to suppress the guilt he wanted to take away from me... but I think I get it. You feel really guilty huh? Like you shouldn't be forgiven, no matter how sorry you feel... but shouldn't that be when people are honestly forgiven? So um, I forgive you Momo, sorry if it sounds kind of cheesy."

With that heroic smile, telling her everything was fine. Everything was fine, like always.

Momo's teary eyes were bubbling a salty burn. "You don't get it... at all... Idiot." Pressing her forehead against his. "How could you?" A tender whisper against his skin.

"Huh?" More of an unfiltered moan. Gulp. He didn't back out from her affection. Their noses were rubbing, and he could feel her liquid salt trailing against his cheek.

Eyes hidden by the umbrella. Hot breathes condensed from the rain. Raindrops fell on the empty train station, encompassed by the only two.

"Didn't you hear me? I want to be selfish... with both of you."

* * *

All alone...

All alone...


	22. Chapter 22

22

Busted and blue

Izuku and Momo busted through the door, laughing at the fact that they barely made curfew. They had a long talk, a long walk.

Everyone was in the living area, sitting on the couches, talking about the concert they just came from. "You guys are back!" Kirishima was the first to notice them and cheered at the narrow miss they had with timing.

"We were lucky!" Momo sighed in relief now that they wouldn't get in trouble. Her reassuring relief.

"Yeah, um, we were looking for you guys." Izuku rubbed his damp hair. His eyes didn't meet their unified stare.

But... he felt Kyouka's glare. He followed it. She had an earjack in her phone. She sighed, unplugging her phone. "Everyone got back at different times." She mumbled. She was the first one back. Her, the first one back... She had absently waited here for everyone to come back, waiting for Momo to come back.

"Yeah, we all got separated! It was crazy." Tooru sagged her shoulders.

"You guys are the last ones. We've been waiting for you two." Kaminari smirked. "Geez, we even tried contacting you."

"S-Sorry, I had a weak signal from the weather." Momo had an uneasy grin. She had her phone off, purposely.

"My phone's dead, sorry." Unsure and hoarse, looking down and to the side.

"Convenient." She seethed from her mouth.

"Oooh!" The rest of them all hushed down for Izuku's reply.

His eye twitched at her attitude. The way her tank top was stuck to her skin, and how she used his sweater to block a transparent view. Her hair was a silky tangled grace. He gulped a confused irritation. She spoke with a nasty mouth but her voice still sounded lyrically pleasant.

"You killed my battery during the train ride, remember? You heard music and scrolled through my feed, adding me to ridiculous meme pages. You had the brightness all the way up, the whole time! You handed it back to me like this, with a half-assed apology! Remember!" He was holding his phone out towards her, shoving it as he berated her.

"Aah..!" Caught in her own accusation. Her lips were parted singing surprised wordless notes. She angrily fidgeted, "It was the glare of the fucking sun, ok?" and her earphones were unsure, to threaten him or hide in embarrassment. She scowled, dropping her earphones. "Whatever, dude." She scoffed with red cheeks. "I'm going to bed." She stood up and headed towards the girls' elevator.

She ignored all the eyes on her. There was one person who her eyes were drawn to... Momo. "E-Excuse me, J-Jirou." She was holding her fist over her chest in worry, like always. "Can we talk later?"

"Sure."

Momo let out a breath of relief. "Everyone, would you like some tea? It was a long day, let's relax, ne?" They all agreed like children and followed her to the kitchen.

"Hey Kyouka, before you go to bed, wanna go outside? It's raining." With a weak smile, recalling their first date.

She rose an eyebrow along with an earjack. "Huuuh?" Exaggerated. "What makes you think I wanna go with you?" She scoffed before walking up to him and shoving his shoulder. Both walked outside the front door.

"It would be like our first date!" With a toothy grin.

"Shut up! How can you just say that so casually in front of everyone?"

"Kyouka, you're smiling." Poking her cheek.

"For fuck's sake, Izuku." Slamming the door shut.

"I thought they were mad at each other?" Mina had furrowed eyebrows.

"That's probably just how they communicate. You know, Jirou's headstrong and Midoriya stands his ground." Kaminari shrugged.

"They're kind of the same and totally different, huh?" Tooru giggled elbowing Ojiro. "Kind of like us, ne? We're invisible to everyone, except each other."

"That's actually kind of sweet, in a way." Ojiro smiled back at her. His smile grew, seeing her nod and adorable laugh, even though nobody else could tell.

* * *

They were sitting on the front steps of the dorms, watching the rain play quiet piano keys.

"Sorry, I killed your phone." She grumbled, leaning on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry we got separated." He added, resting his head against hers.

"It's fine..." She sighed. "Did you have fun?" Because she didn't know if she did.

"Yeah, but it bummed me out when I couldn't find you."

"Yeah..." She groaned sitting up. She had been dreading this. "About that... When we were separated..." She was rubbing his sweater's sleeves together out of nervous habit. "I ran into Momo..."

"Really? So did I, before the concert ended."

"Oh." With a forced chuckle along with his. "Explains how you two were last." Swaying her head to the side, sweeping her uneven bangs across her forehead. "We... we were dancing... and... I'm so sorry Izuku!" Burying her face in the flaps of the sweater sleeve.

"K-Kyouka?! What happened? What's wrong?!" Scooting closer to her.

"Fuck, if I knew this was how you felt, I would have never broke up with you..."

"H-Huh?"

"Momo kissed me!... She kissed me." Hugging her shoulders with rain/tear damp sleeves. "I didn't mean for it... but I kissed her back... I was so caught up in the music... I was just so confused, Izuku..."

 _"I want to be selfish... with both of you."_

 _Izuku was incapable of reacting for a moment. Her intimately close body and breath were opposing the cold rain with their natural heat._

Izuku's emerald orbs vividly reflected the heavy rain. "Wh-What?" His throat was constricting, and he couldn't swallow his saliva. Lips struggled not to tremble. "K... Kyouka." He rose his hand and placed it on her lap. He forced down a gulp he needed to. "Are you okay?"

 _Momo's fingertips were dripping cold, trailing up his neck, barely grasping his jaw, electrifying his skin, luring him. "I-zu-ku..."_

"Izuku? Y-You're not mad?" Kyouka hiccuped.

He squeezed her thigh. "L-Like you said... I know how you feel right, now." His voice box scratched over a vinyl, breaking. "I bet you feel like the worse right now, but Kyouka, you're not!... You're definitely not." Pressing his forehead against hers, both with shadowed eyes from the luminescent rain.

 _Drip, drip, drop_. _"Why?" With a pained gasp. His thumb was on her lips, stopping her. Momo knew he wouldn't go through with it. Izuku was Izuku... but._

"I'm sorry." Kyouka was hugging his neck tight, scared he might change his mind and take back his apology. Take back their relationship, like she did.

"I know." Holding her just as tight. Letting her know, he wasn't going anywhere. He knew the guilt and feeling of betrayal, but the intention of being faithful. Nobody is perfect. Nobody.

* * *

We're just busted and blue.


	23. Chapter 23

23

Submission

* * *

Izuku had his hand clamped over his mouth with a retaining blush, profusely exposed over his cheeks. The same arm was protectively over her head, keeping her in an embrace, as she snuggled on his bare chest. His eyes glanced at the door then to the sliding door leading to the veranda. The curtains were wide open and he could see the cloudy gray sky.

It was still raining. Droplets slid down, the lakes on glass separated and converged like notes on a music sheet. Replaying the melody of last night. A song of commitment and trust. Lyrics of want and need. Tempo hot and heavy.

* * *

 _Izuku and Kyouka, they were outside in the rain making up, making out._

 _She grunted, pulling his damp shirt close, biting his lip._

 _He sucked in at the slight pain. He roughly held her wet hair, tilting her head, slipping in his tongue. She rolled her tongue, tempting his to tangle with hers. Their lips smacked smooches in harmony with the heavy rain._

 _"I never knew making up could be, you know, like this." He mumbled in between the separation of lips. Her breaths panted out a moist chord. It smothered his skin, a lingering taste on his lips, a word to the song._

 _She nodded along with a smirk. "Hey, you call it full cowling, right?"_

 _"Yeah, why?"_

 _Both talking and kissing. Both focused on both. Individual actions._

 _"Can you get us to my room?" She climbed on him, almost straddling him._

 _"But Sensei said..." Trying to protest but was failing horribly. He had his hands wrapped around her waist, already activating full cowling._

 _Her lips gave weather cold wet contact up his jaw. Against his ear, barely audible. "Fuck it." Vibrating to his core, a_ _nd that made him throw caution to the wind._

 _"Yeah, f-fuck it."_

 _"You're so cute when you cuss, babe."_

 _"I think it's hot when you do it too." His grip on her waist tightened. "Hold on."_ _She gave him the okay, nodding her lips against his. He scooped her up bridal style and kicked his foot on a shallow puddle. "Let's go!"_

 _He jumped up in a zigzag. The balconies were his springboards until he reached hers. Landing on the veranda with a slippery skip, catching himself and keeping her safe, just in case._

 _He gently let her down. She tapped on her tiptoes at first, pecked his cheek then landed completely on the bottom of the imitating red boots she loved, a shy rubber squeak throughout._

 _She clamped his hand and led him inside her room._ _He smiled back at the loving tease of her actions. "I'm really happy." He mindlessly whispered, stepping inside. "With you." The same as their first date. He had always felt the same._

 _Her eyes widened. She twiddled her earphone like a lock of hair. "You said that already, Izuku dummy." Her signature insult for him when her heart-cord strummed their stupid story._

 _"I know." His voice was soft and earnest, complementing her bashful rebellious tone. "I just wanted to tell you again because I don't want you to forget that."_

 _Her eyes were shadowed. "Why? I mean why are you saying you're happy all of a sudden?"_

 _Izuku's lips dropped slightly from her question, before rising again, casting out her doubt. "A lot of reasons, but mostly because when I look at you or hear your voice... I feel peaceful. I think of the day when I first really noticed you, that day at the park, everything was so tranquil and perfect. You were just there and I couldn't peel my eyes away. I wanted to keep hearing your voice. I'm sorry, it probably doesn't make much sense, but love doesn't have to, does it? At least I don't think so. S-Sorry, I'm rambling again, and apologizing..."_

 _"Love? Y-You, love me?"_

 _"...Yeah, I do, Kyouka."_

 _"...Damn it Izuku." Trembling lips, honestly trying to let out the same amount of emotions he always put into his effort for her. She faced him, raising her eyes to his. "I... I love you too, okay." Her amethyst orbs were twinkling liquid, a reflection of the emotional rain. "Fuck you for making me happy too, just fuck you, dude."_

 _He held her chin, lowering his lips to hers. "Yeah, fuck you too." Whispered a scratchy, passionate, lyric for her only._

 _She slapped his chest tenderly and giggled a squeal before their lips met. She clutched the damp fabric, dragging him as she walked back. She fumbled with her hand, checking the door, but made sure it was locked._

 _Once she did, he shoved her against the wall, lifting her up. She let out a high pitch moan. Her back arched, pressing her petite body against his chest. His hands held her thighs, keeping them around his abdomen, sliding his fingers up, rising her damp shirt, feeling her smooth cool tummy. She pulled the slippery sleeves of his sweater down, adorably struggling to take it off. She playfully scowled at his chuckle. She flung the sweater at his face after she finished. His laugh grew, she let out her happiness as well. Being together, was just what it was. Her hand took the sweater off his face, revealing a loving smile. She dropped his sweater to the side on the floor_ _. Her arms wrapped around his neck, his hands held her hip under her shirt and thigh under her shorts._

 _Their breaths were hot and tempting, her arms pushed down on his chest and shoulder, lifting her body higher, rocking her hips and locking her legs around him. He walked away from the wall, holding her, kissing her. She ran her hands down his body but gripped the bottom of her tank top, she rose it above her body, ever so slowly, with crossed arms. She flung it off, swaying her hair free from the act. She hugged his head, running her cold fingers through his damp dark green hair. She smirked at his shiver. Her hands came back to his cheeks, her lips came back to his._

 _"Fuck... you..." She whispered only holding endearment and sentiment._

 _A rainstorm. A cold night. Weather drowning out their voices. Drops streaming down the glass. The shelter called a room only holding passion and love._


	24. Chapter 24

24

Empire Ants

Her adorable snoring was a soothing morning alarm. He yawned, stretching his arm, he was about to stretch his body as well, but a vibrating weight was on him.

Izuku's yawn lowered to simple lips raised with joy. Kyouka was snuggled on top of him, nose and cheek on his chest, one hand above his ribcage, and her earphones lazily sprawled out on his body and the bed.

Izuku's peaceful daze was drowned out by the tapping rain. His face steamed in a daze, recalling all of last night.

'Oh God, that means!' He gulped, realizing that he was feeling her bare body on his. Her naked flesh. Only the blankets were covering them. His face flushed. He covered his lips with his hand, stopping from gasping out and waking her up.

Her body shifted on top of him. She peeped out a small note of waking. "Morning..." She let out, sitting up on him. She was rubbing one eye and stretching her other arm.

"G-Good morning, Kyouka." He was covering his eyes now, his scarlet cheeks ashamed of the exposed view in front of him.

She tilted her head, glanced down at her body, then at his flustered expression. She smirked, grabbing his wrist, pulling his hand away from his face. "What's wrong?" She teased, her earphone tapped on his chest, climbing up like a finger, it reached his cheek, poking it for an answer.

"N-Nothing. It's just..." He peeked open an eye. He stuttered again, shutting his eye. "It's nothing!"

She rose a smug eyebrow. "Huuuh, doesn't seem like nothing." She lowered her body back down to his. Her lips grazed his ear as her bosom sloshed against his chest.

'She-She's so close! Too close!'

"What's wrong babe? You weren't like this last night." A husky deep chord.

"L-Last night was different. I was c-caught up in the m-moment! N-Not like I regret it or anything like that! It's just, it's just..."

"It's just, what, hm?" With a little perky bounce to her words. She giggled when he repeated the same phrase of words. She lifted herself with one elbow on his chest. She used her other finger to point below his waist. "Does it have to do with that?"

He opened his eyes and followed her finger. "Hieee! N-No, it's natural! It usually happens in the mornings!"

"Mhm." She absently agreed, leaning down, nibbling on his ear. "Relax, we have the whole morning together." It was the weekend. "Let's enjoy it, staying in bed."

"Kyouka..." He groaned, his body subconsciously acted like last night. He bit his bottom lip hearing her gasp slightly. She adjusted herself on top of him. Her hot breaths tickled his neck, as she began to pant and moan, like last night.

"Izuku..."

My little dream.

* * *

Izuku was staring down. Everyone was chilling around the co-ed area. They had snuck out of her room, after making sure the coast was clear.

Kyouka was next to him, unusually close. She never acted so affectionately when others were around, but now she was leaning on him, snuggled on the couch with their hands clasped. He had a permanent blush tinted on his cheeks, but she was casually hearing music, scrolling through her phone.

Nobody seemed to mind how close they were. Izuku snuck peeks at each of their expressions. He didn't want anybody to feel uncomfortable, especially not Momo.

Then their eyes met. 'She had a smile. It was simple and gentle. She didn't look confused, or upset. I knew it wasn't genuine acceptance, just understanding. Her eyes were staring back at me, glimmering something I couldn't understand. I felt this burden lift from my shoulders. I don't know why but it made me kind of sad like I lost something I never knew was there...'

 _Inhale and exhale._

 _It was during the training camp. They were separate from the rest, in a field of fireflies, they were laying on the grass. They were both on their sides, faces next to each other, their bodies sprawled out on opposite ends, legs farthest from the other pair, lips closest to the other pair._

 _Izuku rolled on his back, staring at the sky. "Pretty..." He whispered, staring at the floating illuminations. Fireflies, swirling and twirling._

 _"It is, ne?" Momo saw the reflection of the constellations in the eye she was admiring. His eye shined emerald innocence. Her temptation. She closed her eyes with a relaxed breath to calm herself._

 _Her face still resting on the side, staring at him, grass blades tickling her nose and cheek. She scooted closer. She opened her eyes, seeing his jaw, and those lifted lips. She sighed out weakly, curling her arm around his head, running her fingers up his hair, reaching his neck._

 _He felt the sudden shift in tension to the tranquil tempo._

 _He turned his face to hers. Given the reverse position of their bodies, he was staring at her porcelain neck. So tempting. An accidental warm breath escaped him, causing a weak whimpered shiver from the touch on her skin._

 _"S-Sorry, I didn't mean too... um, whatever it was I did." Izuku was about to scoot back, but she held him in a tight embrace._

 _"Stay... It's so peaceful right now... So please, just stay." Whispering with closed eyes, praying for his company for a little longer._

 _"We'll get in trouble." But didn't make any action to move, if anything he subconsciously lingered closer to her._

 _"That's so like you." Loosening the curled up grip on his head. She opened her eyes with a faraway gaze._

 _"Izuku, close your eyes." Her fingers skimmed back, combing through his hair._

 _"Eh, Momo?"_

 _"Just do it." Tender and pure. She placed her hand on his cheek, keeping his face in their intimate trance. Her thumb ran along his jawline, slow and endearing._

 _The field twinkled a fading lullaby. Lost in a lonely music box, slowly twirling._

 _Parted lips and shadowed eyes. A quiet lyric and harmonizing silence, in a field of fireflies._

 _Inhale and exhale._

"Do you mind?" She asked.

Jirou nudged Midoriya. "Eh? Huh?" He glanced up at Momo and then at Jirou. He had an apoplectic smile. "Sorry, what was it?"

"Do you mind if I spend time with Jirou?" Momo tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and then crossed her arms with a warm smile.

"Um, sure, as long as Kyouka is cool with it."

"T-Totally cool, you know, like always!" She tried to play off. Izuku reassured her, squeezing the hand he had been holding. She settled down slightly, taking a breath. "W-What have you been feeling up to, Momo?"

Momo shook her head. "Care to take a walk? The rain is pretty timid right now."

Kyouka perked up a little. "Yo sounds cool." Heading for the door.

Momo giggled. "We should get our coats at least."

"Err, right, my bad." Kyouka ruffled her hair. Izuku chuckled at her cringy earphones and eyes. "I'm taking your sweater babe." Kyouka absently waved.

"Sure, don't even ask." He sarcastically criticized.

"Please?" Feign sincerity in her reply.

"Sure, let me go get it." He was about to stand up from the couch.

"Don't trip, it's still in my room." She walked to the elevator, waving at him with a smug victory. Momo accompanied her.

Izuku gave a half expectant smirk. "Obviously, it would be." He sighed laying back on the couch. "But she isn't aware that I have more special edition All-Might hoodies like that!" He laughed to himself.

"Oi, Midoriya, what did Jirou mean, when she said, 'it's still in my room?'" Mineta and Kaminari were looming over him with a shadow presence and glowing red eyes.

"Ara?" A huge sweatdrop, slowly opening his eyes, his smile plastered nervously on his face. "You guys heard that?"

"You bastard!" Mineta lunged for Midoriya, able to assume what happened between the two. "That's why you weren't in your room this morning!" Trying to choke the life out of Midoriya. "After you stopped me and Kaminari, you have the nerve to go through with it!"

"I... didn't... peek... on... any-... one!" He struggled out his words.

"What you did was a thousand times more perverted! Don't try to justify it, just because you're in a relationship!"

"Calm down Mineta. Damn dude, go fap or something. You're not even interested in her." Kaminari pulled Mineta off Izuku.

Mineta was still miffed but reluctantly headed to his room, insulting Jirou's bust size. 'H-How is this her fault too?' The sweatdrop Izuku had only grown. 'Wait... he's actually going to go do that?!'

"So that's pretty crazy dude?" Kaminari sat beside Midoriya.

"Kaminari, listen-"

"Stop right there, Midoriya." He rose his hand stopping Izuku's words. "She's just a friend to me. You don't need to apologize, I mean, it has got nothing to do with me." He ruffled his hair. "And you're a cool guy too."

"Th... Thanks." With anxious eyes, leaning back on the couch next to Kaminari.

"But man, I was secretly hoping you guys would break up." Kaminari exasperated.

"There it is..." Izuku had cringed eyes bulged. "Wait, you said you were secretly hoping? You're not anymore?"

Kaminari waved him off with a nonchalant smirk. "I was trying to be optimistic at first but I'm not going to involve myself or bet on something to ruin a good thing, not my style, and I mean, she's happy you know?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm sure she is." And for the first time, Izuku felt like they were friends, not just friends of friends or classmates.

* * *

"What's taking them so long?" Izuku tried to ignore the quiet taps on the window. Momo and Kyouka weren't back. He had been debating about looking for them or just staying patient.

After Kacchan started a pointless competition of board games, Izuku decided to abandon the chaos about to ensure. He headed to his room. He grabbed his All-Might sweater, it had two golden locks protruding out of the hood like rabbit ears.

He evaded questions at the main door, saying he was going out for a plus ultra jog in the rain. Iida told him to make sure he was careful and no sharp turns so not to slip and injure oneself. Other than that, nobody paid him attention. They were all competitively playing monopoly. 'Why is Kacchan already in jail... wait! They actually built a jail cell? But how? Momo isn't here!' Izuku ignored his classmates' fun.

He jogged out the door, breaking into a sharp turn. He didn't know why he took this route but that's what his intuition told him.

Will it spin, will it soar?

* * *

 _Knock, knock. She tried to adjust her clothes one more time. She sagged her shoulders, forcing herself, to convince herself she was perfectly fine._

 _A nice lady opened the door. "Hello?"_

 _"Yes! I-Is Izuku here? Y-You must be his mother! I'm a classmate of his, I was hoping, maybe?"_

 _"A-A friend of Izuku's?! Pl-Please come in!" Izuku's mom was more than stressed and shocked! That was the second time a girl came to visit him._

 _Momo clutched the notebook she was hugging over her chest. "How is he feeling? A-After All-Might's retirement speech... I don't know how Izuku is holding up?" Stepping inside._

 _"He's been better... You're really kind to visit him, All-Might has always been..." She choked up thinking of Izuku's dream and the emotional toll._

 _"Mom, who is it? M-Momo?" He had stepped into the hallway with them, slightly confused._

 _She tensed. He was in a simple white shirt and green shorts but regardless, it was him. She was in a natural green summer dress, with a brown tie around her ribcage, under her chest._

 _They ended up in his room, sitting on his bed. Sitting next to each other. "I brought this for you." Momo held out a simplistic notebook. "I-I made it for you! I noticed you were running out of pages and thought this five-hundred sheet, college ruled, notebook would help!" She absolutely refused to let him know that when she created it, it came out of her bosom, more specifically, her heart. "So do you like it?"_

 _"Yeah Momo, it's great." He firmly grabbed it but didn't pay it much mind. Momo didn't let that affect her, she knew Izuku was hurt from everything that had happened up until this point. Breaking up with Jirou and having seen All-Might's last fight, first hand._

 _"Izuku, if there's anything I can do?"_

 _"Thanks Momo, but don't worry." And he smiled._

 _That smile._

 _Momo's lips broke apart in a realizing gasp._

 _She tackled him into a hug, resting her chin on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around the side of his neck. "It's okay... everything is going to be fine... everything."_

 _Izuku's eyes grew. His hand rose and clamped one of her arms, holding it dearly. A droplet or more from his orbs. "...What am I going to do, Momo?"_

 _Their faces naturally met. Eyes naturally locked. Her body naturally climbed on him, pushing him down on the bed. Natural embrace._

 _"..Hold me..."_

 _Her only reply._

* * *

Little memories marching on.

Drop... drop... splash! His boot stomped on a puddle. He was running down a trail of trees. He glanced left and right. The scenery was familiar.

He slowed down seeing her walk along the path, towards him. Away from the park. "Momo..."

Each of their steps slowed, little by little. Facing each other, Izuku stared directly at her. Her face was down, aimed at the path, although she knew who it was in front of her.

Will it spin? Will it soar?

After an inhale and exhale, she rose her head to meet his eyes.

And he knew.

He knew.

His emerald orbs grew, reflecting the grey sky and shallow drops. A vivid mirror of a shattered sky, raining little shards.

Neither let out a word. Izuku could only let out a quivered gasp with broken lips. The two golden locks on the hoody shifted, damped by the delicate fall.

She was smiling.

Her smile. It was that smile. That smile telling him that everything would be fine... The smile he always gave her, and it killed him because he knew why she was giving it back to him...

She walked past him carrying that smile throughout. Hollow steps from her boots carried away by a faint wind and scattered raindrops.

His head dropped as she left, his hood covered his eyes. Izuku clenched his fist shut, biting his bottom lip. 'Why did I even run out here for? What was I hoping to accomplish?' He felt like such a hopeless idiot.

It stung.

He wanted to rub his eyes. He wanted to get rid of this watery burry vision. He wanted to get away from this empty rain.

"...Izuku..."

He rose his dejected head, the gold rabbit ears of his hoody attempted to stand. He blinked his eyes to clear his vision.

"...Kyouka..."

She splashed him with a heartfelt hug, wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. She cried her eyes out for rejecting Momo and possibly losing her best friend.

Izuku had his arms around her, consoling her. He held her, knowing how she felt. His hand was on the green hoody over her head, rubbing it, in a soothing manner.

In a cold, fragile embrace, Izuku thought the rain was more depressing when it was desperate not to fade from the grey sky.


	25. Chapter 25

25

Humility

Izuku and Kyouka were sitting on the same bench in the park, the cherry blossom leaves long since scattered away. The small pond had a few lily pads.

Jirou was hugging her legs up against her chest. A bloodshot eye pout. She hit her forehead repeated on her knees. "Fuck, I knew this was gonna bite me in the ass." She shifted the weight of her head on either knee a few times, raising it and taking a deep sigh. "Izuku, um, what you said last night, you really do mean it right? You know, (gulp) that love thing?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, slightly confused. "Y-Yeah I do, why are you suddenly bringing this up? I know you're upset but what does this have to do with that?"

"And that's not gonna change, r-right?"

He tried to keep his demeanor. 'Kyouka is definitely more stressed than I imagined she would be..?' He nodded his head, "Yeah, Kyouka." He laid his hand on her knee, squeezing it. She pulled back her hood and stared directly at him after his sentiment. Her anxious face calmed down seeing his reassuring eyes.

"Okay." Straightening her face to remain serious. "I need to tell you something Izuku. It's about me and Momo. Fuck this is hard." Trying to clear her throat. "It's really mostly about me, but it involves her too." She ran her hand through her hair, before shaking it, sprinkling off some drops. She stared down at the hand on her knee, then his attentive eyes. She broke her eyes away for a sec before reaffirming her confidence in herself, him and their relationship, and met his eyes again. "Izuku, the thing is, y-you're the first guy I've been with..."

Izuku nodded. "You're my first girlfriend too, Kyouka."

She shook her head with some frustration. "No, I didn't mean it like that... I've had a girlfriend before." Keeping her eyes on his reaction.

"...O-Oh." His eyes widened, they were obviously taken back, but eventually took that in. "So you mean, you're, um?" Not knowing how to word it.

She nodded her head with closed eyes. The pressure of coming out was difficult enough but to your own boyfriend. She rested her head back on her knees. His warm hand was rubbing her knee gently to let her know he was still there. "I guess this is the part where you say something cheesy like usual." Jirou tried to joke off the serious issue, because of her own insecurities.

"I-It must have been hard to tell me... I'm shocked, yeah, but I don't want to let that change anything between us. I still definitely mean what I said yesterday... I love you..." Maybe she needed to hear it from him again, maybe he needed to tell her again.

With closed eyes losing doubt, her lips rose like the flower, with a blossoming giggle. "Like I said, cheesy." Letting themselves take a break from the conversation in a cuddled quiet rain drop serenade.

After the rain completely faded out she continued. "And about Momo." A reluctant sigh, staring across the pond. "Actually, I think this has probably affected everything we've been through so far. You know how you and Uraraka were? I mean before we started dating." She turned her face back to him.

He nodded. "Y-Yeah..." He didn't like to admit but, "There was something there, even though, we-, I never acted on it."

She turned back to the pond. "Sorry, it's just easier to talk looking this way." He said he understood and whatever helped her she should do. "Me and Momo were like that too, except I acted on it, but we never got anywhere. It happened a little bit before we started dating but there was never any closure between us... I think that's why I overreacted when I saw you and Uraraka kissing... I felt guilty for not telling you and I was scared shitless. I thought karma was fucking me over because of how I treated Momo."

Izuku's eyes widened. "That's why it was so unusual."

Jirou turned back to him, with a tilted confusion. "What do you mean?" Rubbing away a sneaky tear that was escaping after she expressed a buried truth.

"When you told her we were dating, that day we walked to school with her. It always felt like there was something more to it because of how you both acted so tense but I never imagined that you two were kind of intimate." Izuku recalled the same day that Momo found out about their relationship, she held him back before class, 'asking me to promise that I wouldn't hurt Kyouka...' He bit back his tongue now knowing it was a promise asked by someone infatuated with Jirou who lost and not a friend only wanting to protect her.

"I was hoping you didn't notice that." Jirou mumbled, feeling a wave of guilt. "I'm sorry, I should have told you everything that day. I feel like we could have avoided so much unnecessary bullshit."

Izuku couldn't deny that but, "You shouldn't apologize Kyouka. Telling me something like this must of been scary... So I can understand why it took so long. Trust takes time to build."

Their hands found each other and interlocked on the bench. "I do trust you, Izuku." Leaning her head on his shoulder. "And love you." She felt his damp sweater sleeve on her cheek but didn't care. She went back to staring at the pond. After a long pause, she added. "I think Momo will get some closure after this."

"Did you?"

"Yeah even though it kind of sucks right now..."

He chuckled lightly at her constant cursing. "I bet she feels the same."

"Yeah."

* * *

 _Jirou was whistling a tune in the limo. Momo was giving her a ride back to her house. "It sure is cozy, back here." But they were sitting side by side, thighs grazing each other. Both pretending it wasn't an awkward attempt at flirting._

 _Momo smiled. "Yes, I made sure to have room for everyone in our class." Polite like always, letting out the motherly aura._

 _"Must. Protect." Jirou mumbled with strained eyes._

 _"Nani?" Momo had a confused smile, being mindful of her strange words._

 _Jirou shook her head. "My bad._ _Nevermind, it was nothing."_

 _"Oh, I see." Momo kept her lips up. Jirou was her closest friend. She couldn't help but think of a conversation she had with Midoriya the other day. 'Fun at the arcade.' She nodded her head and decided to follow her own advice. Momo was about to ask Jirou if she wanted to go. She attempted to clear her throat._

 _"Jirou I was wondering if-"_

 _"Hey, Momo I wanted to ask-"_

 _Both at the same time._

 _They both stopped and tried to let the other go first._

 _"Momo I was just c-curious, is there anyone you like yet? We have been going to school for a while now." Scooting closer to her._

 _Momo tensed. Jirou was closer than she ever had been. "Who I like?" With clattering teeth._

 _"Yeah, anyone in particular?" Tilting her head, leaning her hand above the seat behind Momo, closing in._

 _"Eh, w-well T-Todoroki is smart, um M-Mi-Mi-" not able to say Midoriya. She was going to say he was nice, and then Momo was going to list out every student and a brief quality._

 _"Todoroki, huh?" Jirou had a crooked smirk at Momo's flustered state. "Think I can change your mind?" Her other hand clasped her chin._

 _Gulp._

 _Both with closed eyes, leaning close. Barely any physical contact._

 _"We have arrived." The driver informed through the intercom. The car stopped and they broke the trance._

 _Momo's eyes fluttered open. 'That was so...' with dazed thoughts._

 _Jirou opened the door. "Bye Momo, I'll see you tomorrow!" She rushed out, closing the door not looking back. 'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I probably scared her off!' Jirou mentally scolded herself, she never intended to act so brave, she just wanted to be a slight tease to get her interested, then play it off as joke._

 _"Huh?" Momo's cloudy thoughts cleared as the door shut. She glanced through the window at Jirou. The limo began to leave from view. Momo placed her fingers on her lips. 'Jirou kissed me...'_

 _The next morning, Kyouka was staring at the ceiling. "Why am I like this?" Momo hadn't texted her at all since they did that. They had plans today, but now she wasn't so sure. "Fuck why did I try to kiss her!" She took a deep breath and let it out. "Whatever, I can't just stay like this." The birds were chirping, welcoming the morning. "I need some fresh air." And she wanted to play her guitar._

 _She left her house and found a nice spot in the park next to her home. She made sure it was tuned with her humming, playing some notes. It always helped soothe her. 'I needed that.' She sighed content, before opening her eyes and seeing him staring at her._

 _"M-Midoriya?"_


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: I know adding crossover elements can botch a story but it is REALLY important to me! And this is getting depressing for me too. You guys read it but imagine writing it, along with unsung hero. God, why am I like this? Anyway please enjoy :)**

26

Fire flies remix ft. Sawada Tsunayoshi

* * *

 _"Momo... ugh..."_

 _"Mhm... yes Izuku?"_

 _"What are we.. what are we doing..?"_

 _"Don't worry... This never happened, okay?"_

* * *

Izuku and Kyouka were holding hands, walking back from the park. She kicked a pebble and it splashed over a puddle.

"It feels like everything's going to be better now." Jirou still had puffy bloodshot eyes but her smile was earnest.

Izuku agreed, sharing her smile. "Yeah, Kyouka." Squeezing her hand. "You and Momo are good friends, that won't change."

Jirou sighed and then shivered. Izuku released her hand, placing his arm over her shoulders, bringing her in for warmth. "Thanks." She muzzled out all comfy, rubbing her red nose over his ribcage. "God, I don't want to face anybody looking like this."

"Hm, I got my wallet. Wanna go to the arcade?"

She giggled and smacked his chest. "Sure, sounds like our kind of date."

They played and laughed. The tension slowly released from both their shoulders, forgetting about the drama. They were playing the same gun game that they first played on their first date. Her finger was rubbing the trigger. "Hey, um, Izuku?"

"Yeah, Kyouka?" Pulling a green pistol out of the game holster.

"Are you... are you still remembering this?" A call back to their date here.

It caught him off guard because he hadn't. He had to shake his head. "No, not as much as I had hoped, b-but we can make more memories."

Jirou let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah I was feeling guilty cause I had forgotten too, I only remembered because of the pistol in my hand. It's just, after everything that's happened, it feels like so long ago, even if it has only been a few months."

"April..."

Kyouka turned her face to him.

"This all started at the end of April." He was staring down at the pistol. Kyouka didn't know if he was being nostalgic to remember their past or to forget something in the present, because for a moment his eyes looked solemn. It vanished as soon as it came. He rose his head and turned to her, smiling. Kyouka didn't know how to take that moment of weakness in his eyes. She pretended she didn't see it because it obviously wasn't meant to be seen.

"Hey, let's play!" Kyouka tried to cheer. 'C'mon, he's always trying for me! Remember get into that supportive crap he's always giving me.'

"Yeah, let's just forget about today!" Izuku had a bright smile, but Jirou could tell the light was flickering.

They killed zombies like last time, but Jirou could tell his heart wasn't in it, unlike last time. She knew he was trying not to show it and she didn't want to bring it up. They just had a strenuous conversation, adding more seemed insensitive at this point.

They were looking for another game to play after getting mauled by zombies, walking around the arcade. "Hey Kyouka, actually I gotta use the restroom, I'll be right back."

"Oh, sure babe. I'll guess I should use it too."

* * *

"What's wrong with me!" Izuku whispered harshly, splashing water on his face. He placed his hands on the counter. He stared at the mirror, visibly frustrated.

Flush. The stall opened and he walked out with a useless step in his bounce. "Hiee!" He slipped on the dry tile floor somehow. "Ow, ow, ow."

Izuku rose an eyebrow. 'He slipped from a normal step? The floor isn't even slippery, it actually feels like it has good traction.' Nonetheless, "are you okay?" Izuku bent down and offered his hand.

"Ah, thank you." Taking his hand. He tried to pull himself up, but lost his grip from Izuku's wet hand, and fell back down. "Ugf!"

"S-Sorry! I should have dried my hands, I was just trying to help!" Izuku couldn't believe this guy's bad luck.

"It's fine, it's fine, still thanks." He stood and dusted himself off, like if it was an everyday thing. "So what's wrong with you?" He walked to the sink to wash his hands. "Earlier, I heard you say that. Sorry I wasn't trying to spy or anything like that."

Izuku gasped. He did believe he was alone, which was why he said that to himself. "S-Sorry, it's not something I'm comfortable talking about, let alone a stranger I met in the bathroom."

"Hahaha!" His laugh was a high pitch of sincerity. "That does make sense. Okay, I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, but everyone calls me Tsuna, it's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed properly.

"Oh, I'm Midoriya Izuku, it's nice to meet you too."

Tsuna ruffled the back of his brown bushy hair. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to pry but to me, it sounded like you were troubled by something you wouldn't even want to tell your close friends."

"N-Nani?! How did you know?" Izuku was shocked by how he hit the mark.

"Intuition, simply intuition but if you can't tell the people close to you, then maybe you can tell a stranger. Who am I gonna tell, I don't even know you right? I have nothing to gain."

"I'm shocked by how much sense you're making." Especially because of how much of a klutz he showed himself to be. 'There is something extraordinarily normal about him...'

"But I'm not going to force you. I just know how helpful a listening ear can be..." He glanced down, at the mirror, then back at Izuku. There was a buried flame in his eyes, a pure earnest sky-flame.

Izuku couldn't help it. This complete stranger broke down his facade. "I feel like such an asshole!" He finally let out. He slumped up against one of the stall doors. "I've been dating this girl, we broke up once but finally got back together but it hasn't been quite right, actually it feels like everything just keeps piling on and I'm only wearing this mask that everyone expects from me, but honestly I'm just so tired... I want us to be happy, but it's so fucking hard." He usually avoided cussing, but Jirou had permanently changed that.

Tsuna was unfazed. "So why do you feel like an asshole?" Although he heard the guilt in his voice, he knew it helped more to let it all out. "It was when you guys were broken up, wasn't it?"

Izuku weakly nodded with his slumped head and hidden eyes. "I... I did something with her best friend. Technically it's not cheating but it sure feels like it. I haven't felt like anything was wrong until today when I saw her," and that smile Momo gave Izuku, "I know she's going to take this secret to the grave, just so me and my girlfriend can make it work... but this all just feels so wrong. For some reason, I want to go back to her?" Izuku rubbed his eyes with his wrist, scared and confused.

Tsuna was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. He was staring intently focused. He knew exactly this feeling. He knew it too well. "You're just causing self-destruction, Midoriya. You're hurting yourself and those around you, aren't you?"

"That's... That's what All-Might said would happen..." Izuku had wide teary eyes. "Why am I the only one who can't see it..?"

Tsuna shook his head. "No, it's not quite like that, it's not simple. I'm betting your girlfriend or her best friend can't notice it either. Everyone is always fighting their own internal struggles. I'm not trying to put blame on you, it's not my place. I'm just talking from experience. I almost lost my two best friends because I was doing the same thing. I refused to acknowledge my own faults."

"So... what did you do?" Izuku was desperate. "Ever since I reunited with my girlfriend, me and her best friend have had this sexual tension that I have shrugged off, but now, I don't know if I want to avoid it anymore. Some sick part of me wants to console her, in that way."

"It all feels **hopeless** , huh?"

* * *

Sometimes, I follow a firefly. It takes me into the night.

 _"Oh, Izuku..."_

Baby, I just survive. I'm love drunk, I'm sorry.

 _"...Momo..."_

Am I losing you? Sometimes I follow a firefly.

 _"Mhm!...Izuku!.. Izuku!"_

It takes me into the night. Baby, I just survive.

 _"Ahh! Momo...!"_

I got drunk, I'm sorry.

 _"That was... oh, god. Rest your weary head and go to sleep... Don't worry, this never happened... if you don't want it to have... Okay, Izuku?"_

Am I losing you?


	27. Chapter 27

**27**

The hopeless love life of a loser

* * *

 _I guess through all the false images of relationships I believed in, there was a saving grace, even if it's not true, believing in it isn't hopeless. It's hope itself. Unfortunately, I don't believe in a love that can solve all your problems. No perfect love story exist, but I think that's why we all look for one to have faith in. Honestly, we're all just fractured from a past love, unrequited love, or a love who never even noticed you..._

 _Accepting that you and your partner both have a past apart from each other is a step forward to a healthy relationship... as long as you can face the past, not just your partner's but yours as well._

 _I just wish I could have taken my own advice. Oh well, maybe there is someone who will benefit from my mistakes._

* * *

"Thanks for listening to me, I'm sorry I can't do anything to help." Izuku had a slight frown.

Tsuna waved him off. "It's fine, I've made my peace with how things worked out for me. I'm actually quite glad nowadays, hahaha."

Izuku could see through the manufactured smile but didn't press it. 'Even if I'm a hero in training, I don't think heroes can help with someone's internal struggles.'

"You should get going right? Aren't you on a date?"

"Ah, you're right! Thanks again for the advice Tsuna, I'll be sure to use it!" Before Izuku opened the door he turned back to Tsuna. "And good luck with your problems too! I know you'll make it work... call it intuition!" He had a bright smile chiming encouragement to Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Tsuna's fake smile actually rose to a sincere agreement.

The door closed. Tsuna's hand was on the sink, it balled into a weak fist as his head dropped and his hair shadowed his eyes. "Yeah... Thanks." Even though he knew. "It was love..." To him at least. "But that's gone, I messed up my chance, so don't mess up yours, okay?"

* * *

"K-Kyouka? What's wrong?" Izuku saw her sitting on a bench next to the restrooms with a frozen face of cringed disbelief.

"Noodle's hair... She dyed it blonde." Defeat in her mumbling voice.

"Huh? Noodle? From Gorillaz?" Taking a seat beside his girlfriend. He stared at her phone screen, she was watching a music video. "She doesn't look bad. What's the big deal?"

Jirou shook her head. "It just surprised me." She pouted her lips, annoyed. "She doesn't look the same anymore."

It was hard for Izuku not to notice that she was playing with a lock of hair and not her earphone, like usual. "Wait, is it because your hair color was similar to hers?"

Jirou's eyes narrowed and her cheeks grew a pink tint. "No."

'She can't play it off...' His lips grew seeing her earphones twist the more embarrassed she was. It flicked his forehead to stop staring at her. "Ow." He rubbed his forehead. "Why'd you hit me?"

She lifted her chin. "Didn't you hear, staring is rude?"

"But you're my girlfriend?"

"Ah..." Then puffed up cheeks in defeat. "Still, it's uncomfortable."

"Oh, sorry, it's just, I've always liked the way your quirk does that." Thinking of the first time he saw them tie up in a knot.

"Yeah... you wrote that in your notebook." She smiled to herself. "That was probably the stupidest argument we ever had. I actually called you a perv with a quirk fetish." She chuckled.

This time it was Izuku's turn to blush. "But I did figure out that you could use quirks in 'that' way. More specifically your quirk."

"Oh, whatever dude, don't blame me if I predestined a fetish for you." She shoved his playful face away, as he tried to nibble on her earphone.

They eventually stopped their usual banter to go play some more games. Izuku spent some bills on a coin trader. Some coins spilled so Kyouka snickered but did help him pick up the stray ones. They went to play a driving game, Kyouka didn't do too bad, at least she was able to finish the lap, Izuku however... Kyouka facepalmed seeing him try to be gentle then accidentally accelerate too hard and hit the corner. He was constantly crashing. "...Dude..."

"It's my first time playing okay!" He defended. She laughed at his horrible driving skills.

"You didn't even get to finish the lap." She was covering her mouth, not wanting to be as rude as she already was.

"Rematch!" He insisted, sliding in a coin into the each of their slots.

"You're on loser!" Kyouka smirked.

The countdown to the race was starting. They were both gripping their steering wheels with competitive love and revving their engines with an affectionate rivalry. At the last second, Kyouka reached out and yanked his steering wheel harsh. Izuku's car instantly crashed to the side as the race started. "Bye sucker!" She laughed. Izuku tried to avoid the collision but couldn't. He even replicated a car accident on the driver seat he was using. Kyouka giggled wholeheartedly and Izuku had a small smile on his face as he dug himself out of last to get back in the race.

"I did it!" Izuku threw his hands up in the air.

"Oh, bullshit! I used all my nitro on that last corner." Kyouka defended, coming in second.

"What? You cheated in the beginning?"

"Oh yeah? What kind of man doesn't let his lady win?" She shot back.

"Huh? Kyouka?" Confused, continuous words and a blank stare... "Why would I give up so easily against you? You have a great quality of going plus ultra. At the USJ attack, how you went against present Mic in the exam, and nobody can beat you at darts. I had to do my best in this game after all the times you saved me in zombies. But it was fun though right? Being competitive with you is something I don't think I can ever be objective in you know? Because I-"

Kyouka barged in on his infamous rambling. "No you don't need to say it all the time babe, I get it! You get so sentimental on me sometimes... but... I mean, it's not like I don't feel the same way, you know that right Izuku? It's just embarrassing when you speak so openly you get that, right?"

Izuku let out a chuckle, "Yeah Kyouka, I know. But I like embarrassing you, sometimes."

She crossed her arms. "When did you get so bold? I remember when you had trouble making eye contact with me."

"I did, didn't I? You just bring out a more confident side of me." He smiled. "So thanks for making me a better person."

Kyouka's eyes lowered and she rubbed her sleeve. "Yeah, I get that... Being with you helped me be more, um, open with my own feelings. I usually just stuff them down and act aloof, but I don't know, being with you, I feel like I can take them on, no matter how conflicting and scary it was at first." She had strummed a quiet blush on her cheekbones, barely grazing her pale skin. Her lips held an honest emotion of joy in the form of a smile. "So thanks for staying..."

Izuku's fist clenched on the steering wheel before he let go of it and turned to her. He was smiling. "Yeah, Kyouka... I'll always be here."

'I know I should listen to Tsuna's advice, and I will but, I just want to enjoy this moment with Kyouka before I lose it.'

* * *

The moon was a hazy illumination. The thinning clouds were a grey sheet of nothing, a blanket of the night, unable to shield the cold.

 **Izuku: Can we talk?**

It took a while for a response. She stared at the text message as her heart rate grew. She typed a sentence, debated, deleted it, and repeated the process. Until...

 **Momo: about?**

"That's all I can reply with? Gosh, I'm so boring!" Momo dropped her head on her pillow, kicking her bed. "First Jirou, now Izuku..." She had a feeling she already knew what he wanted to talk about.

 **Izuku: Us?**

Momo squirmed in place. "I should have pretended I was asleep! No avoiding it now." She slowly typed on her screen.

 **Momo: Sure :)**

 **Izuku was typing. Stopped. Continued.**

 **Izuku: okay, I'm coming thru the veranda. Be ther in a few.**

"Nani?! He's coming here? I thought he was going to call or hopefully talk in the morning, but he's already on his way? Oh my gosh!" Momo scurried around. She wanted to make sure she was proper, but also had to act like she wasn't trying too hard. She made sure her pajamas were properly buttoned, she debated about the button over her cleavage, she sighed but left it closed. "Izuku doesn't pay attention to that." She smoothed over her blankets and took a seat on the bed,

Waiting for him.

* * *

Izuku stared up at the clouds as he stepped out on the balcony. "I know I shouldn't be using one for all this way. I'm abusing the gift All-Might gave me, but as long as my personal problems are weighing me down, I don't think I can be that much help to others. Sorry All-Might, I just need to use this power for myself, just a bit longer." He resolved himself going full cowling and leaping up the building. He ran across the roof, vaulting over to the girls' side. He began to climb down the balconies with electric agility. Before anyone could notice, he was already at Momo's. He released full cowling and took a deep breath. He tapped on her window.

The drapes covering the view into her room were moved aside and there was a faint click. "Come in." Just as quiet as the click. Izuku's lips grew crooked. Could he really do this? Momo sounded so pure. He shook his head. 'I don't know how it's going to go but I'm not going to let us stay in this confusing limbo of emotion anymore.' Sliding open the door with those thoughts of hope.

"Hey, Momo..." Stepping in, and closing the window door. "Sorry for bothering you so late."

"Oh, it's fine Izuku." She patted the spot next to her on the bed. He sat down beside her. "So what is it about us, that you wanted to talk about?" Doing her best to act normal and elegant, hiding her innocent anxiety.

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, staring at the carpet. "Back then, when you came to my apartment, what you said, about how it never had to have happened? I think it's best if we acknowledge that it did happen... but just that it can't happen again. What we did, I mean..." Izuku gulped down his dry words. He dreaded to turn his head to her but did. Her expression clogged his throat with guilt.

Her fists were balled over her pajamas, her bottom lip quivered, her eyes were misty and her knuckles were white. "Izuku... is that really all you wanted to say?"

He flinched internally. "Um, yeah..."

"Why? Why do we have to admit it?" It was quiet, but a harsh whisper. "If we-, I admit it then what? Lose Jirou as a friend too! It's not fair. What you're asking me... It's not fair." Momo's grip released and she rose her hands to cover her face.

Izuku's mouth hung open before he regrouped. "No, I'm not asking you to lose Kyouka, I just want us to lay out the truth... if we keep pretending that it never happened, then I'll have to keep pretending like you're not important to me! But you are Momo, you're such a great person and it kills me that we're not friends like we used to be, or that your not friends with Kyouka like you should be..." Izuku was only able to speak from the heart.

"You don't get. You still don't get it!" Momo shook her head. Sniffling tears, she removed her hands and faced him.

"Momo?"

"When it comes to relationships, I never once felt like I had something of my own except for that... what we shared... it's like a dream to me... I can fantasize about it all I want, I don't have to feel guilty for it, I don't have to hurt anyone because of it, and best of all, I was always able to dream that it could really happen... but you're telling me to treat it like a mistake we can never make again? How could you ask me that? That little dream was my only victory and you're asking me to throw it away?"

"..." Izuku didn't know how to reply. He had never seen Momo upset. "I didn't know how much it meant to you..."

"Of course you didn't! It was always about Jirou for you... I know it was wrong for me to act like a substitute when you were vulnerable but I was just as fragile and with neither of us realizing it we were there for each other..."

"And I still want to be Momo, but I can only do so as a friend..."

Without warning she tackled Midoriya, straddling him on the bed. _"Take responsibility!"_ A few tears spilled and landed on his shirt. She was resting her forehead on his damp chest. His body froze with a gasp, finally acknowledging the weight of their unspoken intimacy. " _I know you're not to blame... but someone has to, and you're the only one I'll let_ , because Izuku... because..." She couldn't finish. Her fingers were clutching his shirt, pulling on it, hoping for him to console her. She knew she had to let go, but just not yet...

"I know Momo..." He let out as he embraced her, letting her have this one night to be weak and cry herself to sleep. "I know because it's the same for me... you were my first too..." He whispered after he thought she fell asleep.

"Thank you... Izuku." A final lyric before sleep came.

Izuku sighed. It was a messy unclear argument between them but maybe that was for the best. Momo needed to vent and Izuku needed to clear the air for himself. 'I'll take responsibility because you're my friend and also Kyouka's... We will have a proper talk later but for now this is the best possible way to end it.' It finally felt like the clouds were clearing in the night sky, twinkling the beautiful moonlight into her room. Izuku smiled to himself content that he was beginning to move forward.

* * *

After I pick up the pieces, it's like I'm only able to wait and see where they fall this time.


	28. Chapter 28

28

El Manana

* * *

 **4:08 A.M.**

 **Izuku: Sorry I snuck out on you, I just had to get back to my room before anyone noticed. I'm a try to catch a few Zzz**

 **6:30 A.M.**

 **Momo: Yes, well last night was... Unexpected.** **But you're probably asleep. Sweet dreams Izuku.**

 **Izuku: No, I'm up lol**

 **Momo: Oh how embarrassing! You let me send you a sleep well text!**

 **Izuku: Lol no, I woke up from my phone vibrating, sorry and thanks for the text! But, we should finish our talk...**

 **Momo is typing**

 **...**

 **Delete**

 **Izuku is typing**

 **...**

 **Izuku:? ? ?**

 **Last seen at 6:33 A.M.**

Izuku stared at the conversation, trying to force it to come up with a response, or at least show Momo typing. "I guess she wasn't expecting me to reply." He sighed dropping his phone beside him on the bed. His eyes were heavy and he let them close. "...Fuck..." Fading to darkness. Kyouka was a bad influence.

Izuku groaned after properly waking up. He sat up on the bed and rubbed his eyes. "I need to talk to Kyouka too." He threw the blanket off and landed his feet on the floor. He ruffled his bed hair, before bringing his right hand to his lap. He focused on the scars. He clenched his fist and nodded. "I'll definitely tell Kyouka the whole truth..."

He was about to begin his normal routine but checked his phone first, he was going to send a cute wake-up text to Kyouka. His eyes grew, staring at the notification. He clicked on the text and opened up the conversation again. Gulp.

 **Sent at 6:53 A.M.**

 **Momo: I have reflected on my actions Izuku... I don't think we need to finish our conversation. Last night you expressed your desire to remain friends and I understand. I want that too, even if I was secretly hoping that either you or Jirou would notice me in that way, I should have never forced either of you two. I was desperate for an ounce of affection, I was jealous of what developed between you and Jirou while I was left out, because of it I acted in such a vulgar way. I still feel responsible for the mall even if you have forgiven me. I made so many foolish attempts for attention involving both of you. I have only caused hardships for you and Jirou. But Izuku, I want to keep pretending what we shared never happened... I just want that for myself... A stupid dream where I can pretend you are mine. Is it okay if I wish for that?**

"Momo..." Izuku kept rereading the text. He felt so helpless. He glanced at the time on the corner of his screen. "7:46." He sighed trying to come up with a proper response.

 **Izuku is typing.**

 **...**

 **Delete.**

 **Izuku is typing.**

 **...**

 **Delete.**

 **Izuku is typing.**

 **...**

 **Delete.**

 **Izuku is typing.**

 **...**

 **Delete.**

He glared at the empty message. No matter what he typed, it felt wrong. "Momo deserves better than a cheap reply." He dropped his phone back on his bed. He rubbed both his hands up and down his face in groggy frustration. "Ahh, what do I say, what do I do?" He felt like he made the situation between them worse. He dropped his hands on his lap, groaning in defeat.

A gentle breeze fluttered through the balcony. He forgot to close the door when he snuck back in. It feathered a weak noise. Izuku followed it. He rose an eyebrow. His lips slowly grow, starting at the untouched treasure.

* * *

Momo was fixing her hair, sitting across her vanity mirror. She set down the brush and sighed. She checked her phone. Nothing. "It says Izuku saw my message. He usually replies quickly." But she felt, given the topic of conversation a reply might be hard. "No matter! The day has just started! Let's do our best!" She cheered herself in the mirror. She tied her hair up in her signature ponytail.

It slipped under her door.

"Ara?" Momo turned to the sound. "Wait, that's?"

* * *

A guitar was strumming an upbeat affectionate chord. Her legs were dangling off the balcony edge without a care.

"I thought I'd find you here." A hand grabbed the ledge, pulling himself up. "You weren't eating breakfast with the rest so I figured I'd stop by like a friendly neighborhood Spiderman!" He joked.

"Hey, babe. Sure just use your quirk to sneak up to me." Kyouka greeted with her sarcasm, then went back to her simplistic, yet caring rhythm. Izuku smiled back at her and took a seat beside her. He kept quiet hearing her play her music.

The acoustic melody played throughout the morning.

* * *

Momo walked to the door before bending down to pick it up. "This is..." The notebook she gave Izuku. "Why would he give this back?" She grew a bad premonition. She sat on her bed holding the notebook. She glanced at the ruffled mess of where they slept last night. Her hand smoothed over that spot with a sad smile. Her little dream.

The cute acoustic played subconsciously in the background.

She took a deep breath before opening it. Her eyes grew at the sight.

* * *

"It feels like everything's going to be fine." Izuku mumbled.

"Hm? Something wrong Izuku?" Kyouka nudged him for an answer.

"Nothing babe." He casually replied, laying his arm over her shoulders. "Keep playing."

Kyouka leaned against him. "You like it?"

"As much as the first time I heard you play." He nodded against the hair pressed against his cheek.

And so the acoustic melody kept playing.

* * *

"Oh my God..." Her eyes were twinkling a liquid shine. "Izuku..." She cupped a hand over mouth.

Upon opening the notebook, on the cover side, a page from his old notebook was torn and taped to it.

On the page were scribbles of Izuku's thoughts on her quirk, a page dedicated to Momo. Her eyes grew misty seeing a ticket stub of the movie they went to see attached in the corner. Her fingers traced over the faded memory. The page had many notes, not just analytical observations. On the margin, it read, ' _Me and Momo went out, at first she said it wasn't a date but then she did... I was confused when I learned that... But, I mean, Momo is great. If things don't work out with Kyouka, I think I'll ask her out, but this time it would be a proper date between us!_ ' Momo's lips couldn't force back the frown developing. "He really thought that?" She knew it was true because it was faded penmanship.

Momo's eyes glided to the other side with the first page of her notebook. She slowly read over every word.

 _Dear Momo,_

 _I don't really like the way things turned out for us. I never knew why, but I could never write in this notebook. I tried, I really did, but I think it has to do with what we shared... But I don't think of it as a bad thing. I just feel like this notebook, along with that moment, belong to you..._

 _Sorry, I shouldn't have asked you to give it up. But I just want you to know that I have thought about what our relationship could have been..._

 _Momo, this is my sentiment to you... Even if I can't say it, at least I can write it and I hope you can keep it as yours and only yours... our little memory belongs to you._

 _Momo, even if turned out this way, I just wanted you to know at the very least. I do love you._

Momo embraced the notebook with consolation. She held it tight over her bosom. "Oh, Izuku... I love you too."


	29. Chapter 29

Feel Good Inc.

A helicopter flew up to the clouds. Its loud thudding interrupted Jirou's guitar. Both she and Izuku glanced up at it as it disappeared from view. Jirou was about to continue playing until Izuku stopped her. "Hey Kyouka, mind if we talk inside?"

Jirou turned her head to him with a raised eyebrow. "Um, sure?" She set her guitar down in the corner and lifted her legs, spinning to the other side of the balcony. Izuku followed along, and they both headed into her room. She went to her desk, turning on a blue tooth speaker. She scrolled through her phone and clicked on her playlist. She smirked at the first song that played. "Whadda you think?" She casually turned to Izuku as he closed the sliding door. He faced her. It was hard to keep his lips straight. Jirou was moving her hips with an aloof rhythm. She took some steps towards him, skipping her feet around. "Still one of their best songs." She grabbed his hands pulling him closer to the center of her room. "C'mon babe loosen up." She joked, closing the distance between their bodies. She gyrated her hips to the bass.

Izuku grew more tense. 'Who's idea was it for the dorms again?' Izuku was conflicted. 'But thank you so much!' He bit his thoughts back along with his lip. He forced himself to place his hands on her shoulders, slowing her down. "K-Kyouka, I was hoping we could talk instead?"

She mistook his serious voice as his usual nerves and played around. "Aw, come on Izuku, don't be so shy." She whispered, nibbling on his earlobe. He naturally took a taste of her neck. She pushed back, a little distance between them. She had that look, a playful eyebrow raised as she mischievously licked her bottom lip, slowly sliding her tongue. Izuku couldn't resist and stepped towards her. She stepped back. He took another. She did too. She had a victory smirk, as she leaned on the wall and he closed the gap. She was still casually moving her body in sync with the music. Izuku chuckled in response, placing his hand above her shoulder, on the wall.

"I guess we can talk later..." He disregarded his own request. He lowered his face to hers and closed his eyes.

* * *

 _It was that time of the year. It was snowing and everyone warmed themselves with good intentions, giving gifts and sharing memories._

 _Izuku tapped her shoulder. Like always, she turned around and smacked him out of self-defense._ _"Why does this bring nostalgia?" He laughed._

 _And like always, Momo apologized profusely. "Oh gosh Izuku, I didn't mean to hurt you!" She then stopped, seeing his cheerful freckles. She began to giggle as well. "Oh, this is quite nostalgic, ne?"_

 _Izuku reached into his bag. "Sorry, I wanted to give this to you outside of school. I don't know how the rest of our classmates would react if they saw me giving you this gift, especially Mineta or Kyouka." He rubbed his neck with an uneasy grin. His other hand had a thin gift box. "I don't want her to know how you got this."_

 _"Nani? Why would th-" She was asking as she grabbed the gift and opened it. She couldn't believe it. "I-Izuku, how did you? When did you?"_

 _A simple genuine laugh. "So, you like it?"_

 _Momo could only stare as the snow fell somberly on them and the side walk. The setting sun had a cold illuminescent portrait glistening off the snowflakes._

 _It was a framed photo. Kyouka had scarlet cheeks, her earphones were in a knot and her eyes were wide. A squirmish Jirou reaching out her hand to stop the photo._

* * *

The powerful bass was playing in the background. Her music still vibing out hypnotic beats. It kept them in the moment outside of time... Inside of a moment.

"You... said... you wanted... to talk?" An out of breath Kyouka asked Izuku as she laid on his chest as it heaved up and down. Both catching their breaths. Both carried a light sweat on their skin but had the blanket covering them. Kyouka's earphone was mindlessly drawing a circle on the side she wasn't resting on.

Izuku tried to steady his breathing. "Y... Yeah. Just give me a minute." He rushed out. He was rubbing his hand up and down her back in warm cuddles. He lifted his head and kissed the top of her head before dropping his back on the pillow with a sigh. "Maybe we should get dressed first."

Kyouka rubbed her nose on his chest in a fluffy manner. "Mhmmm... let's just stay like this a little longer. This song is just right." Sorcererz. "Hey babe what's your favorite song from their album? This one's mine." She lifted her face to stare up at him, resting her chin on him.

Izuku was about to reply and say fire flies but now that song only reminded him of Momo... He stared at the ceiling in thought. He dropped his eyes back down to her, figuring out an answer. "Souk eye! It has a funky folk rhythm I can't help but enjoy."

"Oh yeah, that song's great! I thought you were gonna go with Kansas though, you know cause how melancholic you can get by yourself."

"What? I'm not that much of a bummer, am I?"

"Hahaha! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You get so hesitant about yourself. You don't show it around others, not even with me but if I look for it, I can see you act so... self-destructive? No that's not right..? I don't know babe, I guess you just look sad when you're alone, like the song. I'm actually glad you picked such an upbeat song! Ooh, now your favorite song from them, then your favorite song in general! I'll go first!" And Izuku could only stare at the joy in her eyes.

* * *

 _"Happy new years!" They all celebrated in the dorms._

 _Without missing a beat, she pecked her lips._

 _Momo blinked in surprise. "J-Jirou?"_

 _Kyouka had a timid blush and was staring away. "We all need someone to kiss during the new year, you know?" Trying to play it off._

 _"Oh I-I see, sorry I just wasn't prepared-"_

 _"It's whatever okay, Momo. It was just something I thought was long overdue. L-Let's enjoy the party, right?" Jirou was trying to keep it cool but Momo saw her earphones begin to twist. Jirou crossed her hands behind her head to hide her awkward attitude._

 _Momo's lips curved up slightly. "Yes, let's enjoy the beginning of a new year."_

 _A new year of possibilities._

* * *

They were fully dressed and sitting on her bed.

"So what was so important that you killed the mood?" Jirou asked, twiddling her earphone around her finger.

Izuku's lips lifted before cracking and falling. He placed his hand on her lap. "Kyouka the thing is..." He cupped his mouth with his other hand facing away.

"Yo, what is it? Did something happen?" She rose an eyebrow and let go of her earphone. "B-Because earlier when I asked, you said it was nothing."

Izuku nodded but didn't turn back to her. "Yeah. It's nothing now, but..."

"But what, Izuku?" She was growing stressed. Izuku was her constant beat and she didn't like this shift in tempo.

"Kyouka..." He finally turned back to her but kept his eyes down. "When we were broken up... I was in a really weird place... I lost you... I lost my bestfriend, Uraraka... and I lost All-Might... It felt like all I had was Momo... She was there for me... She... She..." Choking up. He blinked away the guilty liquid in his eyes. He could do this. He could be honest with her. "She came to visit me after he announced his retirement..." He took a shaky deep breath. She grabbed the hand on her lap with both of her hands. It was a tense grip. He lifted his eyes to meet hers.

Scared but loving.

His lips parted. Kyouka really was amazing. He deserved to be better for her. She deserved better. He placed his hand over hers and held them gently. He gulped but confessed. "I... I slept with Momo..." He closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable.

And,

It flicked his forehead. "Ow, ow." Izuku flinched and opened his eyes. "Ara?"

"You idiot... are you trying to break up or something?" She sniffled back her bubbling eyes. She was scowling but in honest affection. Her nose was pink and her cheeks pale, on the verge of crying.

"What? N-No, Kyouka! You just deserve the truth..."

She rubbed her eyes and sagged her shoulders. "I know we broke up because of me, alright! But that's the past, right! E-Even if it fucking hurts what kind of asshole would hold that against you..."

"What? K-Kyouka, you have every right to be mad at me..."

"You think I'm not? I am Izuku, I fucking AM! But you want to know something? I'm a fuck up too..." She was trying to keep her composure while she wiped her tears. "We keep fucking this relationship up, but that doesn't mean I want to give up... At first, I was scared. I screwed up you know because this was all knew to me. I messed up a lot in this relationship too. I waited till we were back together to officially end things with Momo, I couldn't even tell you about my sexuality until after the fact. But you know what you were still fucking there... It wasn't perfect but you were there Izuku. You left me a gift at the hospital. You made the constant effort while I kept running away because I was scared... God, we're such fuck ups! But that's okay with me... It's hard, I get it, but this, what we have, it makes me fucking happy and I'm not going to let go of it so easily... I don't want to anymore."

Izuku pressed his forehead against hers as the shadow covered their eyes. "I feel so broken sometimes..." He whispered.

"Me too... and that's okay..." She strained to hit the right vocal.

"I want to stay with you Kyouka..."

"Then stay... Izuku, dummy..."

The lyric to their story.

After, I told Kyouka about One for All... I explained how I was All-Might's successor and why his retirement hit me so hard. She seemed to be taking the information well... until I told her about my arms... I saw her visibly crack. She had an expression of unfocused dysphoria but it left just as quickly. I stopped my own words and could only say, "Kyouka?" And she tackled me into a hug, falling back on the bed. Her tears were streaming down my shoulder. She didn't say anything and neither did I... we just laid there scared of the future... and we let ourselves be completely vulnerable to each other, showing how valuable we were to each other...

* * *

 _It_ _was spring._

 _He was running at a relaxed pace, he was heading to the park. She was strumming a few cords belonging to her guitar, sitting cross-legged on a bench in the park. She was feeding the gathering ducks._

 _It was a melancholic melody played despite a hopeful vibe._

 _The cheery blossom petals scattered gracefully around them and landed on the pond with serendipity vibrations._

 _Izuku slowed to a stop staring at the scene. His lips rose to the moment. After everything..._

 _He walked to the bench._

 _She opened her eyes after getting the note to hit just right. "I-Izuku!" She cried in shock. They both giggled at her reaction._

 _"Sorry, sorry. I just couldn't help it Kyouka." He smiled._

 _She tried to shrug it off but her cheeks remained a shade of red._

 _"Can you keep playing?" Asked._

 _Jirou opened one eye to stare. She begrudgingly agreed. They smiled as the song continued._

 _"I'm a run another lap, okay? I'll be back." Izuku was about to head off until he was stopped._

 _"Wait, here's some encouragement."_

 _And both, Kyouka and Momo kissed him on either side of the cheek._

 _And they continued their lives._

 _Feel good._

* * *

 **Okay, I feel like there is some explaining to do. Momo... Momo was that piece of the puzzle that didn't want to fit into the story. That's why this story is the way it is. Originally this was supposed to be a Uraraka, Izuku, Jirou love triangle story, it's easily noticeable in the first chapters...**

 **Until we get to chapter 6. Seeds to create... precisely why it is named that... Idk how to describe it, but while I was writing that chapter Momo kind of took the reins from me. She became a character I couldn't explain to myself. I swear it was like Monika from ddlc. She forced herself into this story, and honestly, I'm glad. She was so enthralling. Then we get to chapter 15 selfish... That was a key chapter in establishing the relationship between Midoriya and Yaoyorozu and I also specifically skipped ahead in the story to the dorms right after this chapter, Idk who noticed, but it was important. The vague time skip is so vital. The chapters before it laid the foundation and the ones after let me get deeper. The way both Momo and Izuku act after the time skip is subtle but impactful to the rest of the story...**

 **Kyouka. We never experienced the story from her side except for a few key points. That was because to both Izuku and Momo she was an object of affection, but in reality, she was her own character that was the observer looking in. If that makes sense. The undertone bisexuality was always there, but I left as it was for the exact reason that she was a character who we don't truly get to see express themselves often. But that was what I loved about her. She showed a lot of herself with her actions, and when she did express how she honestly felt, it was always earnest and vulnerable.**

 **Izuku Midoriya. Oh Izuku, dense Izuku... We see the story play out in his eyes. And I get how everyone can hate the stupid troupe of how he kissed Uraraka cussing him to break up with Jirou. Honestly, I cringe reading it, but that's kind of the point. Izuku was a kid with his first girlfriend but he also had chemistry with Uraraka, as a teen you don't really know what's right or wrong. I mean he understands what it means to be a hero, but as a human... a human makes mistakes... I was trying to portray an Izuku who did make those mistakes, a human Izuku and not a hero Deku. I avoided the hero side of things because this was Izuku's humanity dealing with his problems.**

 **Anyway, I can probably write pages of these characters and a lot of specific details about them, EX: how Kyouka always says Izuku dummy, how Izuku begins to use Full cowling more often involving his personal problems. The way Momo and Izuku had their own personal greeting. I mean there are a lot of those little things to find. Kaminari is a good one, or how Bakugo was the only one who could read the situation between Izuku Momo and Jirou. The way I implied Kirishima and Mina.**

 **Okay, elephant in the room... Gorillaz... you probably guessed it, I am a huge gorillaz fan. Although they weren't involved in the story until their newest album dropped. The Now Now, I think it's their best album in a long time, and although it didn't affect the overall story, it did affect the flow heavily. Fireflies, for example, is laced throughout the story. I also used them because I honestly can see Jirou as a gorillaz fan, that's why she mentions them the most. BTW I don't have a specific fav but the top ones have to be Feel good inc. (Classic) Empire Ants, and souk eye, honestly it's what I'm vibing to, but to me they are important but I can understand why people who aren't fans just gloss over the times I mention them. Just want to give you perspective.**

 **And I want to say thank you for reading. I get if this story wasn't what you wanted it to be. This was a convoluted story, but I feel if u reread it, it will make a little more sense with all this background. Please take another spin at this story.**

 **Final announcement, mostly because I barely leave A/N, if you want more IzukuXKyouka, please read Accelerate. I am writing it under my alternate account Strawhathero27 mostly because it gives me liberty.**

 **I appreciate everyone who read this story! Everyone who reviews follows or favorite! Some of you might not think I notice but trust me I do! I read every review and took notice of people who like, unliked then reliked, and I especially know the ones who read every, or most of my stories! To you guys, I just love you guys! Thanks and until next time!**


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